At a time when the United Kingdom is undergoing several crises, including historic inflation and drought, outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson has started his second vacation in a fortnight, enough to fuel accusations of a power vacuum while waiting for his successor.
In recent weeks the Tory leader, pushed to leave by his party after a series of scandals, has missed emergency heat wave meetings, stayed away from England team celebrations at the European Women's Football Championship and spent a few honeymoon days in the mountains of Slovenia.
Direction Athens
This time he was pictured in a supermarket in an Athens suburb with his wife Carrie, while a removals truck was parked outside his residence at 10 Downing Street on Monday.
"The Prime Minister is on vacation this week," said his spokesperson, stressing that the heads of government, even absent, remain "informed on all urgent issues and take decisions, particularly in matters of national security".
His successor known in September
This escapade comes as Boris Johnson has promised to stay in business until the appointment of a new leader of the Conservative party.
Only two candidates remain in the running, the head of diplomacy Liz Truss, favorite, and the former finance minister Rishi Sunak.
The result of the internal election is expected on September 5.
Voices have been raised in the British political class to reproach Boris Johnson for being absent subscribers at a time when his compatriots are suffering from a very sharp increase in the cost of living, with in particular an explosion in electricity prices. and gas.
Forecasts of further massive bill increases in October and then January, along with the central bank's warning of the scale of the crisis ahead for the UK economy, have prompted calls for urgent action, without waiting for the arrival of his successor.
Downing Street said last week that it would be up to "the future Prime Minister" to act in the face of this crisis, and not to Johnson, who was supposed to handle current affairs.
“Not up to par”
The country is also facing a historic drought which is hitting the agricultural sector hard and has made it necessary to put in place watering restrictions in several regions.
The Labor Party estimated that "the party continues for Boris Johnson, at a time when the whole country is struggling to pay its bills".
"Judging from the past few months, it doesn't matter much whether the Prime Minister is at work or on vacation, since he has not been up to the challenge of the crisis in living standards, due to the Conservative Party,” said a spokesman for the left-wing opposition.
Labour, however, has itself been criticized for its supposed passivity in the face of the crisis, its leader Keir Starmer being on holiday last week and only presenting his party's proposals on Monday, including a freeze on gas prices and electricity.
He "didn't throw in the towel"
For Brandon Lewis, Johnson's former minister, the latter has not "thrown in the towel": "It's probably his second week of vacation in a year, and certainly this year (…) even when we're not not at the office in Downing Street, we work”.
According to The Times newspaper, Johnson intends to embark on "a series of visits and speeches" after his return next weekend, in order to urge his successor to continue to defend his priorities, including the support of the United Kingdom to Ukraine in the face of Russian invasion.
And he intends to remain present in the public debate despite the planned parliamentary inquiry into his attitude during the "partygate", these parties in Downing Street during the confinements which precipitated his departure.
The former mayor of London remains popular in his party, more, according to some polls, than the two contenders for his succession, and the media speculates on a desire to return to power.
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UK
Boris Johnson
Summer holidays
Drought
Inflation