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He no longer has a majority and could be forced to repel Brexit. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took a series of slaps Wednesday in the House of Commons, failing even in his plan to dissolve the assembly to get out of the impasse. After barely six weeks in power, nothing is going right for Boris Johnson in Parliament.
with our special correspondent Anissa el Jabri and our correspondent Muriel Delcroix
He is a very upset Prime Minister and far from being in the dress of the head of government who appeared in the House of Commons. Sometimes all red, sometimes speaking too fast, Boris Johnson has even insulted twice Jeremy Corbyn with ad hominem attacks and a typically British vocabulary calling for example " Chlorinated Chicken " ... He also attacked his program soberly and vulgarly termed " shit ". A Prime Minister in unison of the deputies who exchanged names of birds in length of debates.
Boris Johnson has no more majority but still holds his party even though 21 highly respected parliamentarians, perhaps soon to be 23, were expelled because they voted with the opposition.
On the way to early elections?
The law to block an exit without agreement is under discussion in the House of Lords: 92 amendments have been tabled while Parliament will be suspended. This foreshadows long hours of uninterrupted discussions. Some lords have told it on social networks: they came to sit with razors, duvets and change of clothes for the few breaks between two votes. This is the only known step in the immediate future.
Boris Johnson did not say how he would react. He wants early elections and he's going to get them. The opposition agrees; the only question is when? Officially the Labor wants to lock the block of an exit without agreement but in fact they differ on the strategy: when to accept elections, in the second half of October or in November? The debate is not settled. Comment last night of a political editorialist: "if it was a game, it would be exciting ... But it's not a game." "As the Westminster bubble boils, bitterness and anger grow in the country," says another.
The press also cleaved
Boris Johnson " cornered ": three major dailies, the Financial Times , the Guardian and the independant , use the same term to describe in one the position currently very uncomfortable Prime Minister: not only he failed to prevent the deputies of to pass a bill against a Brexit without agreement, but it also failed to persuade the opposition parties to approve its early election offer on October 15. A " humiliating double defeat " for the Financial Times, leaving Boris Johnson de facto " trapped by a hostile Parliament in a bunkerized Downing Street ."
The Times also notes that the leader and his highly controversial political strategist, Dominic Cummings, "are fighting an increasingly desperate battle to impose a general election on opponents who want to see him cut off from office but without any power. " . The left tabloid Daily Mirror , who has never been a big fan of Boris Johnson, is content to call him the " worst British prime minister " just behind Theresa May.
Conversely for the right-wing newspapers, the big troublemaker is Jeremy Corbyn. The Telegraph calls " hypocrite " the Labor leader who refused an election to break the deadlock. The tabloids Daily Mail and the Sun take again the formula of Boris Johnson who yesterday in the Commons treated his opponent of " wet hen " and they call to early elections not to capitulate to Brussels.