GLASGOW, Scotland — Prime Minister Boris Johnson rushed back to the United Nations’ climate summit on Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to persuade countries to make more meaningful pledges to curb global warming. But his splashy return to the global stage was all but eclipsed by a mushrooming scandal over the lucrative business dealings of lawmakers from his Conservative Party.
Mr. Johnson is not the only world leader whose global ambitions have been swamped by domestic distractions. Some, like President Biden, were hamstrung by political battles back home. Others, like President Xi Jinping of China, were no-shows as they struggled with the pandemic and other challenges.
But as the host, Mr. Johnson’s split-screen moment was especially unforgiving: Rather than draw praise, as he had hoped, for his diplomacy on climate change, he has endured a skein of unflattering revelations about Conservative members of Parliament. The most recent embarrassment was a report that a former attorney general did legal work for the British Virgin Islands from his Westminster office, in violation of House of Commons rules.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson tried his best to change the subject.
“We need to pull out all the stops if we are to do what we came here to do,” he said at a news conference before the final two days of the climate conference, known as COP26. Mr. Johnson insisted a landmark deal was in reach, though he warned that several countries were falling short of necessary pledges.
“Will you help us grasp that opportunity or will you stand in the way?” he said. “The risk of sliding back would be an absolute disaster.”
Even in Glasgow, Mr. Johnson faced as many questions about the scandal as he did about his efforts to combat climate change. He was asked whether it was appropriate for lawmakers to put their private interests ahead of their constituents (he said it was not) and whether he would apologize for the damage to the country’s reputation (he did not). Onstage, trying to project statesmanship to a global audience, he instead found himself defending Britain’s honor.
“I genuinely believe the U.K. is not remotely a corrupt country,” Mr. Johnson said, “nor do I believe our institutions are corrupt.”
The latest politician to come under scrutiny for moonlighting is Geoffrey Cox, a lawyer who is defending the British Virgin Islands in a corruption investigation brought by the British government. While Mr. Cox is not barred from practicing law, the Times of London …….
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/10/world/europe/boris-johnson-climate-scandal.html