The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has finally decided to part ways with Suella Braverman, his very controversial interior minister. Multiplying controversies and provocations, qualifying “hate marches” the peaceful pro-Palestinian parades in London over the last four weekends without condemning the main troublemakers – far-right activists who tried to force access to the Cenotaph (the British monument to those killed during the two world wars) on the 11 November – it had become too toxic for a large part of the Conservative MPs and weakened Mr Sunak’s authority.
Was it a question of limiting the discontent of the many supporters on the right of Mme Braverman, by making his disqualification less personal? Rishi Sunak has in any case chosen to announce his departure, Monday November 13, as part of a broader ministerial reshuffle, appointing former Prime Minister David Cameron (2010-2016) as Minister for Foreign Affairs. . He replaces James Cleverly, who takes the post of interior minister at short notice.
Mr Cameron’s return to politics is also a surprise. He passes for a moderate conservative, is well known on the international scene, but his legacy is at least discussed: he is the one through whom Brexit arrived, having proposed a referendum on the country’s membership in the European Union which ended with the victory of the no vote, in June 2016.
Cameron appointed lord on Monday
He is also the one who, in 2010, at the head of a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, launched an austerity policy which explains the dilapidation of British public services: schools lack teachers, courts lack judges, investments in public infrastructure are at a standstill, nearly 8 million people are waiting for an operation or an appointment at the public hospital.
To add to the controversy, Mr Cameron is not even an MP – although it is customary for a minister to sit in the House of Commons. He was made a lord on Monday to still be able, at least, to answer for his actions and government actions in the House of Lords. And his name is associated with one of the worst recent lobbying scandals. According to the BBC and the Financial Timesthe former prime minister made millions of pounds litigating the case for financial firm Greensill Capital, now under investigation for fraud in Germany and Switzerland.
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