That of the Batavia, that of the Bounty, that of the Hermione, that of the Globe, that of the Somers, that of the Spithead, that of the Potemkin… To the great mutinies of naval history we must now add, in a political version, that of the Jubilee ( Boris Johnson received the news that he was the subject of a motion of censure organized by his Tory coreligionists while watching Sunday’s parade in the royal box and put his head in his hands.) The prime minister has survived by 211 votes to 148, but it is a massive rebellion that leaves him further weakened.
“I would do the same thing over again,” Johnson said, referring to the partygate parties in the run-up to the vote. Who doesn’t need to blow off steam from time to time with a few drinks? The word remorse does not appear in his dictionary, nor does the word resignation, even though a third of the parliamentary group has turned against him. He is willing to continue as long as the rope does not end, no matter what happens. “I could be naked in the middle of Piccadilly Circus and he still wouldn’t feel ashamed. For him, everyone is innocent and guilty at the same time, it all depends on how you look at it, ”says a deputy who voted against him.
The next stop on the Johnson Express , a runaway train that has run out of brakes, is the by-elections on the 21st in Wakefield (Yorkshire) and Tiverton (Dorset), both Conservative seats, threatened in the first case by Labor and in the second by the Liberal Democrats. If they lose, the Tories could change the rule that their leader is safe for a year after winning a confidence vote, or send the men and women in gray to Downing Street to tell him his time has come, as they did. with Thatcher. But it is not certain that no one dares to go, for fear of receiving a beating.
The hours before the motion of censure were, like good riots, a powder keg of intrigue. The rebels, who were not a homogeneous and well-organized group, circulated a memorandum of 789 words, very well chosen, with the reasons for getting rid of Johnson: the international loss of prestige in which he has plunged the country, the electoral ballast in which (supposedly ) has become, the dishonesty, the lies, the failure to capitalize on Brexit, the paralysis in the face of the cost of living crisis, the Italianisation of the economy towards a stunted growth model, the growing polarisation, territorial disintegration (Great Britain is a mere geographical expression without national identity), its Trumpist obsession with fueling the culture war, tax increases, the abandonment of Thatcherite orthodoxy, the public spending spree, the lack of a coherent program, the submission to the polls, the constant recourse to populist solutions (recovering imperial weight and height measurements, privatizing channel 4 television, threatening to break up the he Brexit agreements…), immigration, attacks on judges and officials, cutbacks on freedoms. “But worst of all,” notes a traditional Tory, “is the vulgarity.”
Johnson, less effervescent than usual, responded by blaming his problems on the press and saying that it is time to cut the partygate nonsense and allow him to work, because there is a war in Europe and the economy is looking into an abyss like that of the seventies and eighties, even to a depression. Preparing for such a day, he has got rid of all the brilliant brains of the party and filled the Cabinet and even the positions of general director with salaried mediocrities, who this Monday had to pay the toll, although some signed up for the mutiny. In the next few days he is preparing to launch a legislative offensive with measures in Health, Education and Housing. And perhaps announcing the breach of the Brexit agreements on Ulster, which could trigger a trade war with the EU. He runs forward.
Confucius said that a politician has to give the people weapons, food and confidence. But Johnson’s problem is that not only the majority of voters, but also a very important part of his party, has lost faith in him, has grown tired of his incoherence and lust for power, sees him as too lazy, anarchic and lacking in real conviction, no matter how verbally clever and brilliant he may be at times. The Tories are a party dominated by the concepts of economy and class, in a world marked by culture and values. After 12 years in power (the longest period since the 19th century), they find themselves in the midst of a war between two souls and two capitalisms, the one that seeks stability and for this accepts certain regulations, and the one that considers everything illegitimate. that goes against the benefit (taxes and others). The Prime Minister, chaotic, subversive, resourceful, a professional optimist, does not know which side he is on. Sometimes he acts as a disciplinary father, sometimes he lets his son watch TV and use the cell phone as much as he wants.
In the 17th century, the Batavia, a 24-gun ship owned by the Dutch East India Company, experienced a mutiny shortly after leaving Cape Town on her maiden voyage, when two crewmen, Jacobsz and Cornelisz, seized control and decided to change course. After being shipwrecked, the survivors killed each other for gold and jewels, until a soldier brought order and put an end to the rebellion. In the Jubilee Mutiny, the Tory ship has yet to crash into the cliffs and Johnson clings to the helm as two factions struggle to steer the ship to different destinations, one more Thatcherite, the other more distributive and Keynesian.
Kiko Matamoros, Nacho Palau, Ainhoa ??Cantalapiedra, Anabel Pantoja, Marta Peñate… Boris Johnson must be added to the list of Survivors in the British political reality show. Touched, but not sunk.
