Serial revelations around parties organized in Downing Street in full confinement, legal setbacks for a Prince Andrew stripped of his military titles: the Prime Minister and the son of Elizabeth defile the two main institutions of the country and tarnish the image of the country abroad, get carried away Sunday Times, conservative weekly.
The United Kingdom has just had a painful week on the international scene. While Boris Johnson apologized to the Queen for the parties organized at 10 Downing Street the day before her husband’s funeral, the Queen stripped Prince Andrew of his titles and military decorations, the latter being accused of having had relations sex with a teenage victim of trafficking organized by pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Stunned, observers saw a sort of messy-haired schoolboy standing on the rostrum of Parliament during the session of questions to the government, who maintained, obviously without much conviction, that he was convinced that the boozy party at which he had attended No. 10 was a “work meeting”. As for Andrew, the panoply of archaic roles he has had to shed has drawn chuckles from American commentators.
But the immediate ridiculousness of this double spectacle hides a fundamental and disturbing truth. These two institutions, the government and the monarchy, have been defiled by two buffoons and their entourage. It is difficult to see how to restore their image, and the United Kingdom finds itself distraught in these dangerous times, with no one at the helm.
Schoolboy atmosphere in Downing Street
These scandals have gone on for too long already. It is on November 30 that the Daily Mirror revealed that Johnson and his team were suspected of breaching anti-Covid rules by attending parties at No 10 on Christmas Eve 2020. Downing Street has had weeks to explain the extent of these violations and finally move on to more serious issues; instead, Sue Gray, the senior official in charge of the investigation into these events, had to disentangle herself from revelations unveiled in dribs and drabs, which might delay the delivery of her report by several days [prévue cette semaine].
It’s the small details that give these cases their sordid side. On the evening before Prince Philip’s funeral, two
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