British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
With Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous line from ‘Terminator’ movies, “Hasta la vista, baby!” Boris Johnson concluded his final major speech in parliament as UK prime minister on Wednesday. Analysts interpreted This as a hint that he would return. [“I’ll be back”, is another line of the Terminator character anyway.] Johnson left his final session of Prime Minister’s questions, defended his three turbulent years in office- from Brexit and Covid vaccinations to Ukraine- and hailed the contenders vying to follow him, all the while fending off opposition charges, AFP reported.
As per Johnson’s press secretary, the prime minister isn’t considering his comeback. She further added that it was his way of saying goodbye.
Johnson’s Downing Street team is currently waging an “anyone but Rishi” campaign, accusing the former finance minister Rishi Sunak of planning the cabinet coup that led to Johnson’s ouster after a slew of scandals. Those include the ‘Partygate,’ which refers to events held by Johnson at his residence in violation of Covid guidelines when rest of UK was under lockdown imposed by his government. The prime minister, while laughing, responded that he’s not following the Tory election especially closely.
Johnson reflected on the Conservative’s resounding victory in the 2019 election on a platform to ‘get Brexit done’ and described his tenure in power as “the greatest privilege” of his life.
After leaving the parliament, Johnson advised the candidates they should “stay close to the Americans, stick up for the Ukrainians, stick up for freedom and democracy everywhere,” AFP reported.
The leader further added, “Cut taxes and deregulate where you can to make this the greatest place to live and invest… focus on the road ahead but always remember to check the rearview mirror.”
He continued it is important ‘to remember that above everything it’s not about Twitter, it’s the people that sent us here.’