David Frost (left) had already negotiated the EU exit agreement for Johnson.
(Photo: REUTERS)
London British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s crisis is worsening dramatically. At the end of a turbulent week, Brexit Minister David Frost resigned. In his letter of resignation on Saturday, he cited the reason that building a new relationship with the EU was a long-term task that someone else should take on.
At the same time, however, he explicitly emphasized that he had “worries” about the course of the government. According to “Mail on Sunday”, which first reported on the resignation, Frost is leaving in protest against the government’s “political direction” in corona policy, tax policy and climate protection.
After the resignation, the British Foreign Minister Liz Truss will take over his previous duties. A government spokesman announced on Sunday evening in London that Truss will be responsible for Britain’s relationship with the EU with immediate effect. In this role, as chief negotiator, she is now taking on the ongoing talks with Brussels about special Brexit rules for Northern Ireland.
The resignation of his loyal Brexit Sherpa is a real blow for Johnson. Because it reinforces the growing doubts in the conservative party about its leader.
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According to the “Mail on Sunday”, Frost had already announced his resignation to Johnson a few days ago after he had spoken out in vain in the cabinet against the new corona measures. As a result, both agreed that Frost should stay in office until January.
For Frost, according to the “Mail on Sunday”, the corona policy was the drop that brought the barrel to overflowing. The introduction of the 3G rule for certain events is met with bitter opposition from within the party. This week 99 Conservative MPs voted against the corona package. It was the biggest Tory rebellion since the Brexit uprising against former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019.
Brexit Minister David Frost resigns
Frost is also critical of the tax increases and the government’s ambitious climate protection plans. In his resignation letter, he wrote: “I hope that we can get to where we need to go as quickly as possible: a slightly regulated, entrepreneurial economy with low taxes.”
In recent months, the Brexit Minister had already warned in speeches against imitating the European social model with the high state quota and the high environmental requirements. He is an advocate of a “clean” Brexit that maximizes independence from the EU and relies on deregulation.
The behavior of a “sovereignty purist”
Another reason for the resignation is likely to be the failure of the Northern Ireland talks with the EU. Frost has been trying to push through far-reaching changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol for months. Among other things, he wants to abolish the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for the British part of Northern Ireland. The EU categorically rejects this.
A British diplomat had recently signaled that they would give in on the question of the ECJ. Apparently Frost does not want to support this.
Political expert Anton Spisak from the Tony Blair Institute tweeted his resignation as an example of the behavior of all “sovereignty purists”. “As soon as you realize that your decisions mean difficult compromises, pack your bags and blame others for your own mess.”
The departure now puts the prime minister in a highly vulnerable position. After the corona rebellion in parliament, the Conservatives also lost their stronghold of North Shropshire in a by-election on Thursday. The Conservatives see the blame for the defeat in Johnson personally, after he had produced one scandal after the other in the past few weeks.
In London there is already speculation about a change of prime minister in the new year. Foreign Minister Liz Truss and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak are reportedly exploring their chances with the MPs. There is also speculation about Frost’s ambitions. He is one of the most popular ministers and is likely to have scored points at the grassroots level with his criticism of tax increases and climate protection plans.
The opposition immediately used the recent dispute in the cabinet to attack. “Frost’s resignation shows that the government is in chaos,” tweeted Labor Party’s Brexit commissioner Jenny Chapman. “The country needs leadership, not a lame duck as prime minister whose MPs and cabinet have lost faith in him.”
The former leader of the Brexit party also spoke up. Frost resigned “because he is a conservative and a true Brexiteer,” praised Nigel Farage. “Boris Johnson is neither.”
EU Commission warns against hardliners as successors
Irish EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness warned Johnson on Sunday not to appoint a hardliner to replace the resigned Brexit Minister David Frost. “I hope that the mood goes in the direction of compromise and problem-solving and not in the direction of conservative party politics,” said McGuinness, who is responsible for financial services, of the Irish broadcaster RTE.
Without compromise there will be no progress. “If the priority is appeasing the hardliners in the Conservative Party, I think we are in a very bad position,” warned McGuinness.
With agency material.
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