They say a week is a long time in politics. For Boris Johnson, this week must have felt like an eternity.

First, two of his top ministers resigned over the Chris Pincher affairPincher is a Conservative MP accused of harassment. Boris Johnson hired him despite knowing of these accusations.. Dozens more followed on Wednesday. That night, cabinetThe senior ministers in a government, who attend regular direct meetings with the prime minister. members told him to go. Yet Johnson vowed to "fight on" despite having too few ministers to run a government.

By yesterday morning the jig was up. The greased pigletA phrase often used to describe Johnson due to his ability to slip away from scandals that would bring other leaders down. It was first used by his political rival David Cameron. would be sent to slaughter. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, appointed by Johnson a day before, urged him to "go now" while he still had some dignity left. Even then Johnson begged to stay on until the autumn.

Figures from across the political spectrum breathed a sigh of relief. Liberal columnist Gaby Hinsliff bid "good riddance" to "the worst prime minister any of us has ever known". Conservative commentator Max Hastings wrote: "At last we can be a serious country again."

For the Conservative MPs who assassinated him, however, the champagne was followed by an instant hangover. A brutal succession battle was about to begin.

The party's future is at stake. In 2019, Johnson's Conservatives won 43.6% of the vote and an 80-seat majority. If an election was called today, the Conservatives would lose. Recent polls say they would get 33% of votes, well beneath Labour's 40%. 

Johnson is the root of the rot: when polled last week, just 23% thought he was doing a good job. But he has sprayed his stench on his colleagues. The ministers who betrayed him stuck with him through proroguing ParliamentIn August 2019, Johnson unlawfully advised the Queen to close down parliament for five weeks, in an attempt to stop debate on Brexit., misusing public money, Covid-19 chaos, the lobbying scandal and PartygateNickname given to the controversy over a series of illegal gatherings hosted in 10 Downing Street, Johnson's office and home, during the Covid-19 lockdown.. According to Labour leader Keir Starmer, they are also guilty of "lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale". 

They did not just move against their leader because of guilt, however. Ministers only turned on Johnson after two by-election defeats made it clear he was electoral poison - showing what journalist Aditya Chakrabortty calls a "squalidSomething extremely dirty or unpleasant, or showing a lack of moral standards. careerism".

Brexit has left the Tories divided. Johnson threw out many of its Remain-supporting talents, leading to a weak government run by what Hastings calls a "gallery of grotesques". Many argue that the cost of living crisis demands a competence that the Conservatives seem unable to provide. "A Tory party that obsesses about problems in No. 10 while being unable to find answers outside of No. 10 is not committing regicide but suicide," declared an editorial in The Spectator, a right-wing magazine.

Others caution against counting the party out just yet. The Economist calls the Conservatives "the world's most successful party". Since 1945, the party has led the government after 12 of 21 elections. It has always bounced back from defeat.

It is ruthlessly adapting itself to appeal to voters. Johnson betrayed Theresa May and dissolved her government, then won an election promising a new start. This could happen again. Academic Tim Bale notes their "ability and willingness to reinvent themselves - even when that means giving up what supposedly defines them and the values they hold most dear".

With Johnson gone, the opposition faces a tougher job. Sober, dull Starmer was the perfect counter to Johnson's lies and bluster. A more competent, less tainted Tory leader may turn things around.

Yes: After 12 years of Conservative-led government, Britain is poorer, more divided and in crisis - and the government cannot avoid some of the blame. A competent government is needed to clean up the mess.

No: Never underestimate the Conservatives' ability to reinvent themselves. They have survived since 1834, in power more often than not. And Britain's two party political system offers few alternatives.

Or... Before the Conservatives, there were the Tories. Before the Tories, there were the cavaliers. Even if the party shatters, those who share its political views will continue under a new identity.