For a long time, Boris Johnson managed to keep the crew of his government ship together.

Until Tuesday evening.

The resignations of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, Health Minister Sajid Javid and several other state secretaries are the strongest sign of distrust in the British Prime Minister's course to date.

Until then, all members of the government had always stood behind their captain, no matter what course he was taking and how strong the headwind was.

But the allegations that Johnson knew full well that he was promoting a man to the Tories' parliamentary group leadership who had been accused of sexual assault in the past were too much.

Sunak, Javid and the others who have now ditched Johnson – including the Tories, who have been adamant behind him, especially at the level of Secretary of State – have probably decided that Johnson's ship of fools is going down and they didn't want to go with it be drawn deep.

Especially since the next storm is already brewing on the horizon.

On the one hand, a parliamentary committee is still examining whether Johnson knowingly lied to the House of Commons over the Partygate affair.

On the other hand, Johnson's opponents are mobilizing.

They want to win every post in the election to the chair of the faction's influential "1922" committee, before launching a second vote on Johnson's future as party leader - and prime minister.

However, the two most prominent deserters certainly have another important motive.

They hope that if the Conservatives manage to win Johnson, they will one day be able to captain the party and the government themselves.

In any case, Johnson's ship sways violently and threatens to capsize.

It is doubtful that he can put it back up himself.

The country would wish that Johnson would not stick to the old seafaring legend, according to which the captain is always the last to leave his ship.