United Kingdom: Return of Boris Johnson? Really?

Some adore him, while others are ready to quit if he returns to Downing Street. In a new twist, Boris Johnson tried on Friday to secure the sponsorships he needs to become British prime minister again.

Vacationing in the Caribbean, where he is not yet a candidate, former finance minister Rishi Sunak is at odds with him. But both stand out in this snap election within the Conservative Party, which should produce a new prime minister in a week at most, after 44 days of interim leader Liz Truss resigning.

After months of a horrific political soap opera of division, betrayal and incompetence as the country yearns for stability, 58-year-old Boris Johnson, the charismatic former Brexit hero who left three-and-a-half months ago, has been denied after a series of scandals. His return.

“Boris Johnson tells Conservatives: I can save party from political ruin,” headlined the Conservative newspaper The Daily Telegraph. “Boris vs. Rishi, battle for Tories’ soul,” headlined the pro-Johnson Daily Mail.

An unofficial tally from the Guido site at midday put Rishi Sunak at 58 MPs, Boris Johnson at 54 MPs and Parliamentary Relations Minister Benny Mordant at 20 MPs. 357 Conservative MPs need 100 sponsorships by 2pm on Monday to be a candidate.

– Bloody Weekend –

Negotiations are going well behind the scenes. Boris Johnson is preparing to return to London and what promises to be a bloody weekend. Because “Boris,” the English generally use only his first name, which is familiar to them, is deeply divisive.

For his supporters, he is the only one who should be legitimate, having given the Conservatives a historic majority in the 2019 general election. A powerful orator, he kept his warmth with thousands of party members who had to decide the week. next.

“Boris or bankruptcy,” Secretary of State for Energy Jacob Rees-Mogg said on Friday. Defense Minister Ben Wallace, well-known within the site, said he was “leaning” towards Boris in this play with Shakespearean overtones.

But several Tory MPs, drunken parties in Downing Street during anti-Covid lockdowns, his constant lies and his lack of discipline have undermined trust, leading to dozens of resignations in government and on his own. July 7.

“He is currently under parliamentary committee inquiry (…) it is almost 100% certain that the Privileges Committee will agree that he has defrauded Parliament,” recalled Conservative MP Richard Graham on Times Radio.

Another elected official commented that the return would send his party “straight into the mess we were in when he was in power.”

“He’s a long way from getting the support of MPs, but if he does, he’ll almost certainly be prime minister,” reported The Times.

The base of the party was largely loyal to Boris Johnson. According to a YouGov poll, 42% of party members think she would be a “very good” replacement for Liz Truss, and 21% a “very good” replacement. Rishi Sunak, who lost to Liz Truss this summer and is sometimes seen as a traitor leading to Boris Johnson’s exit, 29% and 31%, Benny Mordant 20% and 34%.

Against a backdrop of economic and social crisis, the Labor opposition, far ahead in the polls, has called for early general elections. The centrist Liberal Democrats (“Lib-Dems”) want to block Boris Johnson’s candidacy, pointing to his conviction for breaking the law during the “participation”.

“Boris Johnson is the English Berlusconi”, denounced Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the “Lib-Dems”.

“Hasta la vista” ended in Parliament during Boris Johnson’s last question session in July. “Mission mostly accomplished, at this point,” he added.

He dreams of following in the footsteps of his hero Winston Churchill, who returned to power in 1939. But Churchill waited not six weeks, but 10 years.