Boris Johnson “disappears” (in Slovenia) as recession threatens

Bad timing for Boris Johnson. On Friday, the British prime minister, who was expected to manage current affairs while waiting for his successor to be appointed, accused the Bank of England of being “missing” as the Bank of England warned that a recession was looming.

British media reported that the prime minister and his finance minister, Nadim Zahavi, were on holiday from London after the central bank’s shock announcements that the country would enter its longest recession since the 2008 financial crisis. Labour’s number two Angela Rayner blasted on Twitter for saying the Conservative government was “missing”.

Downing Street refused to say where the Tory leader was spending his holidays, but the Slovenian government said Boris Johnson traveled to Slovenia for a “private” holiday. “The British Embassy in Slovenia has informed us that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made a personal visit to Slovenia. “Due to the nature of the visit, no meeting (with Slovenian authorities) is planned,” the government said.

On Friday morning, Energy and Commerce Minister Kwasi Kwarteng admitted he “doesn’t know where Boris is” while confirming he is in “constant contact” with Boris. “He celebrated his wedding, I think he was on his honeymoon, (…) I don’t think a lot of people would blame him,” he told Times Radio. Boris and Gary Johnson celebrated their wedding last weekend, which was pushed back by the coronavirus pandemic.

Some looks

Kwasi Karteng added that it was completely wrong for members of the Conservative Party to accuse the government of inaction at the time of voting to replace Boris Johnson, who announced he was leaving in July and was ousted by a series of scandals. The Tories will have to choose between top diplomat Liz Truss and former finance minister Rishi Sunak, who are front-runners in the poll, which will be announced on September 5. Boris Johnson will officially step down tomorrow.

He has made few appearances since announcing his resignation and has already been criticized for missing crisis meetings for the historic heat wave that hit England last month or for not receiving English footballers after their success at the Euros.

According to the central bank, a recession will start in late 2022 as energy prices rise, pushing inflation above 13% in October and worsening the current dramatic crisis in purchasing power that British households are suffering.