Head of the British Studies Center at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yelena Ananeva, suggested that if Boris Johnson is unable to carry out his duties due to illness for a long time, the UK government and the Conservative Party will have to choose a new prime minister.
Ananeva told Russia's Sputnik: "If the prime minister is unable to perform his duties in the future, this position does not give him the right to remain as prime minister. In this case, the government is likely to hold elections for the prime minister, and then the party elects a new leader who becomes Prime Minister. There are no responsibility chains in the UK. "
These cases have been extremely rare in the history of the country, and therefore the established traditions have not evolved either. In the rare cases in which such a crisis occurred, the above-mentioned action plan was used: the election of an interim prime minister by the cabinet, then the election of a new leader and prime minister by the ruling party.
The expert explained that Foreign Minister Dominic Rapp is the acting prime minister, but this position did not give him the right to run for prime minister if Johnson could not return to work.
She added that from the point of view of stability in the country, the main issue is how RAP and the working group on the emerging coronavirus will solve the conflict between the requirements of the economy and the requirements of self-isolation.
The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was transferred to the intensive care unit of the hospital after his symptoms of the emerging coronavirus worsened, as close sources confirmed that his health condition did not improve.
The government had announced his transfer to the hospital last Sunday, 10 days after he was infected with the Corona virus, on the recommendation of the attending physician as a precaution.