U.K.'s Johnson battles to stay in job after top ministers quit
The Hindu
Mr. Johnson’s government was rocked by the resignation of two top ministers and a slew of more junior officials.
A defiant British Prime Minister Boris Johnson battled to stay in power on Wednesday after the resignation of two top ministers and a slew of more junior officials, who said they could no longer serve under his scandal-tarred leadership.
Mr. Johnson is known for his uncanny ability to wiggle out of tight spots, but a series of accusations of misdeeds have pushed him to the brink, and some of his fellow Conservative lawmakers now worry that the leader renowned for his affability could be a liability in elections.
Many are also are concerned about the ability of a weakened Mr. Johnson, who only narrowly survived a no-confidence vote last month, to govern at a time of increasing economic and social strain.
At the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in Parliament on Wednesday, members of the opposition Labour Party shouted “Go! Go!’’
Then, more damningly, members of his own Conservative Party challenged the leader. Lawmaker Tim Loughton was the first to ask whether there was anything that might prompt him to resign.
“Frankly the job of the prime minister in difficult circumstances, when he’s been given a colossal mandate, is to keep going,’’ Mr. Johnson replied.
His fellow Conservatives listened quietly, offering little support.