7, June 2022
UK: Boris Johnson is now a weakened leader and with an uncertain future 0
The moment of truth for the embattled British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson at the end of a day rife with speculation about his political survival.
It’s a result that means Boris Johnson is now a weakened leader and with an uncertain future, although he himself doesn’t think so. But it’s exactly the stuff that matters to people that forced members of his own conservative party to call for a no-confidence vote: lock-down breaching parties held at government buildings at the height of Coronavirus pandemic when families were banned from visiting even dying relatives.
The sticky Partygate scandal played a major role in conservative MPs challenging Johnson’s position, but it was not the only reason.
Things came to a boiling point over the weekend when the prime minister was booed at an event celebrating the Queens 70-year-rule.
And prior to Monday’s vote, allegations of intimidation and arm-twisting by number 10 trying to get conservative MPs to change their minds, and a last ditch effort by the Boris Johnson himself writing to MPs begging for a second chance.
Boris Johnson has survived the confidence vote. But the considerable number of votes against him can pose a serious challenge to his premiership. That’s why some experts say he won’t be able to hold on to power for much longer.
Sourcies
23, June 2022
French Politics: Macron calls on opposition to ‘leave in-fighting behind’ 0
French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation for the first time on Wednesday since his centrist coalition lost control of parliament in Sunday elections. “We must learn to govern and legislate differently,” Macron acknowledged in his first public comments following the election setback.
The president said the opposition was ready to work with him on “major” issues and promised measures on inflation, climate change and unemployment sometime this summer. He went on to call on legislative groups to be clear in indicating “how far they are ready to go”.
Macron acknowledged that the parliamentary elections had highlighted social problems in France, but he called on the opposition parties to “leave in-fighting behind” and to move “beyond politics”. The current political impasse should not lead to “stagnation” but to renewed dialogue and a new “willingness to listen to each other”.
He added that he had been re-elected in April on a platform of “ambitious reform”, which he said he plans to carry out. Macron’s Ensemble (Together) coalition emerged as the largest party in the final round of parliamentary elections on Sunday but was dozens of seats short of keeping the parliamentary majority it had enjoyed for the last five years.
Macron’s centrist alliance finished 44 seats short of a majority in the lower house National Assembly as a new left-wing coalition known as NUPES made gains and the far-right party of Marine Le Pen posted its best legislative performance in its history.
The NUPES (New Popular Union) alliance – which brings together the La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), the Socialist Party, the Greens (Europe Ecologie-Les Verts) and the Communist Party under the leadership of eurosceptic far-left figurehead Jean-Luc Mélenchon – more than doubled the score of its combined parties in 2017.
The situation has called into question Macron’s ambitious plans for reform in his second term after his re-election in April – including a controversial measure to raise the retirement age from 62 to 65. It also marks the first time in 20 years that a president has not had an absolute majority in parliament.
Macron has been holding two days of talks with opposition leaders at the Élysee Palace, including with the head of the far-right National Rally party Marine Le Pen, to find a way out of the crisis.
Analysts have said the most viable solution would be a deal between Macron’s centrist alliance and the conservative Les Républicains, a party on the decline that nevertheless won 61 seats. But after talks with Macron on Tuesday, party leader Christian Jacob ruled out any kind of “pact” with Macron’s alliance and said his party prefers to remain in the opposition.
Macron’s remarks on Wednesday were his first public comments on the election results, a significant setback for a president with an ambitious domestic reform agenda and one who is keen to play a key role in international crises, including the war in Ukraine.
Source: AFP