(London) The day after a reshuffle from which he hopes for new momentum to try to stave off the defeat announced in the next elections, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered a violent attack on Tuesday from his former Minister of the Interior .
To the dismay of the most radical wing of the Conservative party, Rishi Sunak opted for a refocused government, and appointed former Prime Minister David Cameron to Foreign Affairs.
But barely dissipated the surprise effect of the return to the arena of the man who triggered the referendum on leaving the EU to which he was nevertheless opposed, Rishi Sunak faced a violent backlash.
No stranger to controversial statements, Suella Braverman accused the head of government of treason in a scathing letter, calling on him to “urgently change course”.
conducted by telephone, the very right-wing ex-boss of the “Home Office” accuses Rishi Sunak of having reneged on the promises he made to her when she agreed to support him and to be Minister of the Interior.
PHOTO KIN CHEUNG, POOL VIA REUTERS
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
These promises include reducing legal immigration, preventing the European Convention on Human Rights from hindering new legislation to combat illegal Channel crossings, such as the project, on which the Supreme Court must rule on Wednesday, to deport migrants who arrived illegally on British soil to Rwanda.
” Treason ”
“You have clearly and repeatedly failed to deliver on your commitments on each of these measures”, which are “what we promised the British in our 2019 programme” which resulted in Boris Johnson’s triumphant victory, “this what people voted for in the 2016 Brexit referendum,” she insists.
Rishi Sunak’s refusal to leave the European Court of Human Rights or to free himself from laws that “inhibit our ability to deport those who have no right to be in the UK” is “not “simply a betrayal of our agreement, but also a betrayal of your promise to the country to do ‘whatever it takes’ to stop the boats,” she continued.
She finally accuses him of not having spoken out against “the display of anti-Semitism and vicious extremism” during demonstrations in support of the Palestinians since the “terrorist atrocities of Hamas” on October 7, which left 1,200 dead. in Israel according to the authorities.
Israel’s response in the Gaza Strip left more than 11,000 dead according to Hamas.
“We have to be honest: your plan is not working,” she concludes, “you have suffered record electoral defeats, your restart has failed and you are running out of time,” says Suella Braverman.
“You must urgently change course”, which according to many observers is aimed at the head of the party after the defeat of Rishi Sunak in the next legislative elections.
Ambient gloom
This scathing attack, which crystallizes the feeling of distrust of a large part of the right wing of the Conservative party, comes in a deep and lasting gloom for the Tories, very far behind in the polls after 14 years in power.
A survey published Tuesday by the Savanta institute gives an 18-point lead to the Labor opposition led by Keir Starmer, positioned on the center left.
After the scandals of the Boris Johnson era and then the near financial crisis caused by the short-lived Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, a 43-year-old former investment banker, has brought back a semblance of stability.
But the return to the arena of David Cameron, who provoked Brexit while opposing it, embodied the austerity imposed on public services in the 2010s and praised a “golden age” of relations with China sharp with current tensions, is far from unanimous among conservatives.
Editorialists from all sides also criticize the return of the man who at 43 became the youngest prime minister in two centuries, but at 57 seems a man of the past.
In public opinion, the majority remains weighed down by inflation exceeding 5%, a stagnating economy, a serious housing crisis and the impression of a deterioration of public services, particularly in health.