The British leader has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab “to deputize for him where necessary,” according to the statement.
Sick with COVID-19, suffering from a persistent cough and fever, Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained “under observation” at St. Thomas’ Hospital on Monday, a government official said.
Johnson’s office declined to describe what tests or treatments he had received, or say whether he had developed breathing problems or pneumonia, two of the common symptoms for coronavirus patients sick enough to be admitted to the hospital. One British newspaper reported that the prime minister had received oxygen treatment upon admission, but the government declined to confirm this.
Johnson’s ministers and staff sought to put the best spin on the fact that the 55-year-old leader is not well. They stressed that the prime minister continues to lead the government, communicate with his ministers, receive his red dispatch box of documents and work from his bed. Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, however, scheduled to be conducted via video conference, was postponed.
Johnson spent a “comfortable night” in the National Health Service hospital and “is in good spirits,” said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is chairing emergency meetings and briefing the press in Johnson’s absence, though he hasn’t personally spoken to the prime minister since Saturday.
The prime minister tweeted Monday, “Last night, on the advice of my doctor, I went into hospital for some routine tests as I’m still experiencing coronavirus symptoms.” He thanked the “brilliant NHS staff taking care of me and others in this difficult time.”
Johnson, one of the first world leaders to be diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, was last seen by the public in a short video posted Friday on his Twitter feed, urging Britons to remain indoors except to go shopping, visit the doctor or exercise. In the clips, he looked ragged, with puffy eyes and pale skin.
The British leader tested positive for the virus 12 days ago. He immediately went into self-isolation in his apartment at Downing Street, getting his food brought to the door on a tray, his aides said.
Johnson completed the recommended seven days of isolation, then extended his quarantine for three more days, and then on the advice of his doctor checked into the hospital Sunday evening, around the time that Queen Elizabeth II was making an extraordinary address to the country.
She spoke of “an increasingly challenging time. A time of disruption in the life of our country: A disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.”
The rules for who takes over if the prime minister becomes incapacitated are not as straightforward in Britain as in the United States, where the vice president would assume the duties.
Downing Street has confirmed that Johnson has designated Raab as his stand-in, but that would require cabinet approval.
“It isn’t as cut and dry and black and white as it is in the U.S.,” said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “Were somebody to be suddenly struck down and there were no named interim in place, it would ultimately be up to the cabinet to decide. . . . The prime minister is not the chief executive the way the president is.”
Bale said it wasn’t surprising that Johnson hadn’t yet stepped aside. “It’s very difficult for prime ministers to relinquish their power, emotionally speaking,” he said.
He added that Raab getting the nod would be complicated by his “limitations as a public communicator,” and the fact that most people would point to another senior minister, Michael Gove, as the de facto deputy prime minister.
Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, told the BBC on Monday that Johnson was “still very much in charge,” though he acknowledged the prime minister may require more nights in the hospital.
Johnson, Jenrick said, has been “working extremely hard leading the government and being constantly updated — that’s going to continue.”
“I’m sure this is very frustrating for him, for somebody like Boris who wants to be hands-on running the government from the front,” Jenrick said. “But nonetheless, he’s still very much in charge of the government.”
Others have questioned whether Johnson should hand over the reins for the time being.
Bob Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, told the BBC, “I think, in the end, if he’s not well, he will have to reflect on this, because the job’s tough at the best of times, and it’s doubly tough now.”
George Osborne, editor of the Evening Standard newspaper and a former finance minister, tweeted, “Boris wouldn’t be in hospital unless it was serious.”
(Washington Post)
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