Boris Johnson’s “Partygate”: three things that keep him in the game

Now Boris Johnson has understood it too. He is right late to the party, pretty much afterwards, but if there is one reliable certainty after boozy celebrations, it is this: the hangover will follow.

Something is brewing in the UK. The British Prime Minister is staggering, again, only the “Partygate” has what it takes to be the bouncer.

Resignation calls are loud, also from within our own ranks. An internal investigation is ongoing and the evidence is overwhelming. The electorate is disturbed.

On Wednesday noon the Prime Minister – while millions of Britons were in strict lockdown.

And the garden party isn’t the only Downing Street event reportedly breaking corona rules. “I want to apologize,” said Johnson in Parliament. The public pressure was probably too great.

It is questionable whether the prime minister can also squirm out of the “party gate” – a moved one sorry should not be enough – which joins the many scandals in his only two and a half years in office. For Johnson it could have been one misstep too much.

But for now he should stay in office. However, he hardly has any control over what keeps him in the game.

1. Who could be his successor – and how do you score?

So far, the Tories have met their prime minister’s antics with remarkable opportunism. For example the “wallpaper gate”, Johnson’s attempt to get finance for the renovation of the apartment. Or the “sleaze gate”, the failed undertaking to save a party colleague from a lobbying penalty.

Johnson has been British Prime Minister since July 2019, always at the mercy of the Conservative Party because he was able to win majorities with his jovial manner. Shortly after taking office, he clearly won the general election, not only drummed for Brexit, he also pulled it through consistently. That apparently outweighed any shortcomings.

This is obviously different with this “gate”.

Since the party became public, Johnson has received little public support from its own ranks. The opposition loudly demanded Johnson’s resignation on Wednesday, and the first calls for resignation were heard from the conservatives. Among others from the head of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, who openly called for Johnson’s withdrawal.

However, an important regional election is due in May, a short-term change in leadership could be counterproductive, especially since the Tories are already facing losses. There are potential successors for Johnson, but so far none of them seem to be extraordinarily captivating or popular. So not a safe bank.

The next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2024. This is where the swap voters in the northern English constituencies are likely to become important again – who gathered behind the Tories in 2019 because of Johnson and his “Get Brexit Done” promise. But: what if they switch sides again out of disappointment?

Several Tory MPs reported that their mailboxes had been overflowing with emails from angry voters since the “Partygate”. And the “Brexit” as a proof of success has served its purpose for the time being: In view of rising energy prices, gaps in the supermarket shelves and delivery bottlenecks – and even 42 percent of those who once voted “Leave” in the “Brexit” referendum.

2. Was that it with Corona?

So the prime minister needs a new election hit, a profitable topic, a diversionary maneuver – and just in this turbulent week there are signs of one thing: the possible corona exit.

In Great Britain, the number of infections could fall, and there are signs of relaxation in the hospitals. Scientists continue to urge caution and jump to conclusions. But hope is growing that the pandemic could soon turn into an endemic.

“I hope we will be one of the first great economies in the world to demonstrate how to manage the transition from pandemic to endemic,”. Housing Secretary Michael Gove said, describing Johnson’s (often controversial) approach to the pandemic as correct.

For Johnson, that could be belated satisfaction, on the one hand, and just the kind of headline he could boast about going forward. If he managed to get out of every mess in 2020 with the Brexit success, if it was the rapid vaccination success in the kingdom last year – which he also referred to on Wednesday after his apology in parliament – a quick exit from the corona pandemic could bring him back let sit more firmly in the saddle.

According to reports, his cabinet is currently implementing a “living with Covid strategy” that could probably be announced as early as March. The catch, as with any plan: It offers orientation, but also creates expectations. If Johnson can come up with one thing and fail the other, then a master plan isn’t worth the paper it’s on. So far, the pandemic has often succeeded in overtaking supposed certainties.

3. Isn’t that so bad?

Last hope, so: the electorate, its standing that Johnson enjoys in the collective memory. It is currently not very pronounced; public opinion has long since turned against the prime minister.

In social media, ridicule quickly accumulated that Johnson admitted to participation in the garden party, but at the time assumed a “working meeting”, as he described Wednesday in parliament. Even newspapers that usually support him and the conservative Tories gave him headlines for this: The Daily Mirror newspaper called the prime minister “a shame” on its front page on Thursday.

This is also noticeable in the surveys. According to a survey by the polling institute Yougov commissioned by the Times newspaper, the opposition Labor Party’s lead over Johnson’s Conservatives grew to ten percentage points – the largest difference since December 2013.

As the newspaper reported, Johnson was defiant in conversation with party colleagues. He is said to have said at a meeting that he did not do anything wrong personally. Even if: is that enough?

With his apology, Johnson bought time, commented the paper. Nevertheless, the party’s internal resistance is great. “It’s over. It’s indefensible and it’s amazing how little support he has within the group,” a cabinet member told the newspaper.

Johnson has not expressly ruled out a resignation. He simply asked to await the outcome of an ongoing internal investigation into several alleged lockdown parties on Downing Street – which could last for weeks.

The results could relieve Johnson or at least not be as harsh as many opposition politicians are likely to hope. But the impression remains: Johnson’s apology does not come from the heart. “He apologizes that he was caught,” etched Labor politician Lisa Nandy.

The opposition responded with laughter to Johnson’s apology and explanation in parliament. For the first time, Labor leader Keir Starmer called on the prime minister to resign. Johnson was a man without shame, said the opposition leader. “The party’s over, Prime Minister,” he said.

Sources:,,,,,,,, with material from the DPA news agency