伦敦-在50多名政府部长和助手辞职后，英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊周四宣布辞职。
在周二晚上的一瞬间，似乎这位曾发誓要坚持下去的总理尽管他的权威已经崩溃，盟友们也纷纷抛弃他，将继续任职，引发潜在的宪法危机。但周四在唐宁街外，约翰逊屈服于压力。
很快，从他们的队伍中，保守党，仍然持有英国议会中相当大的多数，将选出一名替代者，此人将成为自2016年英国退出欧盟公投以来的六年中的第四任总理。
接下来会发生什么?
虽然他没有明确使用“辞职”这个词，但约翰逊说，“选择新领导人的过程应该现在就开始，时间表将在下周宣布。”
在……里选举过程保守党议员提名他们喜欢的候选人。然后是两个最受欢迎的候选人的决胜选举，然后保守党成员(持证、付费的那种)投票决定他们希望谁成为下一任领导人。
由于保守党在议会中占多数席位(这要归功于约翰逊在2019年的大选中获胜)——他们领导地位的获胜者将成为下一任首相。
据报道，英国的民调显示，英国现任国防大臣本·华莱士(Ben Wallace)是这场竞选的早期热门人选，他因处理对乌克兰的支持而广受赞誉。
但这一过程绝非一蹴而就。为了正确看待这一转变，当特里萨·梅宣布辞职2019年5月24日唐宁街的台阶上，她的继任者约翰逊直到7月24日才上任——两个月的差距。
约翰逊是看守人吗?
鲍里斯·约翰逊(Boris Johnson)已经任命了新的部长，以填补他的政府中数十人辞职留下的一些空缺，这一迹象表明，他将试图兑现自己的承诺，继续掌权，直到选出新的领导人。
然而，他的辞职演讲并没有受到党内不满成员的欢迎。他已经被指责为傲慢和将自己的过错归咎于他人，而不是正视导致他离职的任何错误。
这就是约翰逊激烈离职的本质，以及他在面对如此多辞职呼吁时的蔑视，以至于一些立法者——包括保守党和反对党工党——希望他现在就离开。
保守党可能会觉得他们需要一个干净的石板，甚至在他离开的时候，约翰逊可能会伤害他们重建对国家信任的机会。已经有迹象表明，首相认为自己会一直执政到秋天。前保守党首相约翰·梅杰已经表达约翰逊应该尽快被免职。
反对党工党已经说他们将要求议会投票如果约翰逊的免职没有发生的话。
在这种情况下，副总理多米尼克·拉布(Dominic Raab)将接任临时总理，直到他们任命新的领导人。
分裂的遗产
无论在国内还是在国际舞台上，约翰逊都将永远被认为是英国脱欧。他是2016年脱欧运动的代言人，作为首相，通过在2019年赢得绝大多数席位，确保英国退出欧盟。
在竞选过程中，他的选举胜利和非传统风格引起了公众的共鸣，例如，他在进入议会之前担任了两届伦敦市长，这在一个工党城市中令人惊讶。
但争议一直伴随着他。“派对之门”进一步玷污了他的名声，对许多人来说，主持着饮酒和违法的文化尽管国家被封锁，家庭与亲人分离，甚至在他死后和COVID一起在重症监护室呆过。当他因参加其中一个集会而被大都会警察局罚款时，他成为了历史上唯一一位因参加集会而受到谴责的在任英国首相在职期间违法。
约翰逊还否认他知道一名议员过去的不当行为，这是他在2019年被告知的，然后无论如何都要提拔他，只是为了那个同事重复他的罪行。
约翰逊的权威被“派对门”所伤害，但最近的丑闻被证明是压垮骆驼的最后一根稻草。
What happens next after Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns amid scandal?
LONDON --After more than 50 resignations from government ministers and aides, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnsonannounced his resignation Thursday.
For a moment on Tuesday evening, it seemed as though the prime minister, who had vowed to carry ondespite the collapse of his authority and allies deserting him on all sides, would remain in office, sparking a potential constitutional crisis. But outside Downing Street on Thursday, Johnson caved into the pressure.
Soon enough, from within their ranks, the Conservative Party, who still hold asizeable majority in the U.K. Parliament, will elect a replacement, and that person will become the fourth prime minister in the six years since the Brexit referendum of 2016.
What happens next?
While he did not specifically use the word "resign," Johnson said, "The process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week."
In theelection process, Conservative MPs nominate their preferred candidate. There is then a run-off with the two most popular candidates, and then Conservative Party members (of the card-carrying, fee-paying kind), vote on who they want to be the next leader.
As the Conservatives have a majority in Parliament (thanks to Johnson's big election win in 2019) -- the winner of their leadership will become the next prime minister.
Reported polls in the U.K. have suggested Ben Wallace, the U.K.'s current secretary of state for defense who has been widely praised for his handling of support for Ukraine, as an early favorite in the race.
But the process is by no means instant. To put the transition into perspective, when Theresa Mayannounced her resignationon the steps of Downing Street on May 24, 2019,Johnson, her successor, did not take office until July 24-- a gap of two months.
Johnson as caretaker?
Boris Johnson has already appointed new ministers to fill some of the gaps left by the dozens of resignations from his government, in a sign that he will attempt to hold true on his promise to stay in charge until a new leader is elected.
However, his resignation speech has not gone down well with embittered members of his party. He has already been accused of arrogance and blaming others for his own faults, instead of facing up to any of the mistakes that led to his departure.
And such is the nature of Johnson's acrimonious departure, and his defiance in the face of so many calls to resign, that some lawmakers -- both Conservative and in the opposition Labour Party -- want him gone now.
The Conservative Party may feel that they need a clean slate, and, even on his way out, Johnson may hurt their chances of re-establishing trust with the country. There are indications already that the prime minister sees himself staying in office until the fall. A former Conservative Prime Minister, John Major, has alreadyexpressedthat Johnson should be removed as soon as possible.
The opposition Labour Party havesaid they will call for a vote in Parliamentto eject him from if Johnson's removal does not happen.
In that event, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, would take over as prime minister interim until they appoint a new leader.
A divided legacy
Johnson will always be known at home and on the international stage as one of the main architects ofBrexit. He was the face of the campaign to leave the EU in 2016, and as prime minister,secured Britain's exit from the bloc by winning a huge majority in 2019.
His election victories and unconventional style resonated with the public on the campaign trail, exemplified by the two terms he served as Mayor of London before his time in parliament, surprising in a Labour city.
But controversy has always followed him. "Partygate" proved a further stain on his reputation,presiding, to many, over a culture of drinking and lawbreakingwhile the country was locked down and families were separated from their loved ones, even after hespent time in the ICU with COVID himself. When he was fined by the Metropolitan Police for attending one of those gatherings he became the only sitting British PM in history to have been censured forbreaking the law while in office.
Johnsonalso denied that he had knowledge of a lawmaker's alleged past misconduct, which he had been told about in 2019, and then promoted him anyway, only for that colleague to repeat his offence.
Johnson's authority was wounded by "Partygate," but the latest scandal proved to be the straw the broke the camel's back.
