United Kingdom: in the midst of a slump, the Conservative party meets in congress

Criticized from all sides, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is struggling in the polls.

Jack Hill / Pool Photo via AP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

In the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party is in turn holding its annual congress from this Saturday until Tuesday, October 6.

It will be virtual, which could be a boon for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, facing criticism from his camp. 

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With our correspondent in London,

The Conservative Party apparatus may well promise its members an experience as fun as a computer game, its virtual convention will probably prove to be anything but fun given the surrounding discontent.

The euphoric honeymoon is over after Boris Johnson was triumphantly elected last year.

Worrying resurgence of the coronavirus, threatened economy, difficult post-Brexit negotiations, the Prime Minister is facing a perilous situation and his management of these challenges is questioned every day by the electorate.

Sixty-three percent of Britons believe the government is mismanaging the pandemic.

Conservatives and Labor are tied at 39% in voting intentions.

Worse, 36% of those polled think that Labor leader Keir Starmer would make a better Prime Minister than Boris Johnson, who only collects 27% positive opinions.

This disenchantment is found in its own camp.

More and more Conservative MPs accuse the Prime Minister and his team of governing by diktats.

Even the right-wing press, which is usually largely favorable to him, reproaches him for his decisions which generate about-face, revolt and confusion.

We find him dogmatic and without energy, in short “BoJo” has lost his “Mojo” and this meteoric fall leaves the party worried.

So of course, the Conservatives will be keen to revive themselves during their congress, but many will secretly congratulate themselves on not seeing their dissensions exposed in broad daylight during a truncated meeting.

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• UK

• Boris Johnson