There he goes again, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, described by his newly-appointed communications director as “not a complete clown”. But as with the Joker in the comic series Batman, there often seems to be a sinister aspect to Johnson’s cynicism. The manipulation of rumors that almost reaches Trumpian sophistication. At 10 Downing Street, in apparent desperation for his administration’s handling of the pandemic and his bacchanal parties, Johnson can be seen trying to falsely place the blame on opposition leader Keir Starmer. Prosecuting a Pedophile One of his MPs had said.
As has been reported, Johnson’s dream as a schoolboy was to become king of the world, but he had to settle for a country that was no longer an empire with little global presence or influence, a kingdom that was more than his own. The name was more divided. Anger against him grew because he had made strict rules to fight the epidemic, and he and his colleagues broke them, and then he made misleading statements in Parliament. Some of his MPs want him out. Looks like he thinks he can shame it. It’s been more than a week since a senior bureaucrat published a damning but revised report and the Metropolitan Police launched its own investigation to see if laws were broken. Harold Wilson, a former Downing Street resident, said that a week is a long time in politics; Johnson is counting on him.
If the past form is any indicator, it may be correct. Introducing a former journalist who leads a topical news-themed quiz-cum-comedy show, Have I Got News for You; who was dismissed as a correspondent for making ‘facts’; who was sacked again as a front-bencher for allegedly lying to the leader of his party; Who insulted everyone from one city to the US President and African diplomats and took it lightly; And those whose actions suggest they weighed Britain’s decision to remain or leave the EU with only one criterion in mind – how it could help their careers.
Despite knowing Johnson’s past, with exceptional tolerance, the British public voted for him, giving his party a remarkable majority. If he survives, it is not because the public continues to like him, but because MPs from his own Tory party cannot agree on who should lead him next.
When the pandemic spread around the world, Britain was in a precarious position. Years of low investment in its National Health Service showed signs of stress. Doctors and nurses knew they had to make heartbreaking decisions about who should get beds in the intensive care unit and who should be refused. Some of Britain’s early bureaucratic decisions—lockdowns, strangely complicated rules about who can get whom, when and for how long, and who should be vaccinated first and who should wait—were painful. But the nation that had endured the blitz obeyed: ‘Don’t rave’ is like the nation’s motto; Keep calm and carry on, as people are constantly urged to.
The death toll of Kovid has increased. The grandchildren bid their grandparents a tearful farewell to their bullets, which prevented them from going to hospitals; Weddings got postponed and people could not attend the last rites of their loved ones. For more than seven decades, the touching image of Queen Elizabeth II sitting alone in a coffin carrying the body of her husband Prince Philip touched the nation’s conscience.
But while the Queen mourned her husband, Johnson and his aides were at a farewell event – a work program, strictly official for a departing aide. Festives became a trend. There were more than a dozen such cases, and the flow of alcohol was open. If this is how senior bureaucrats and politicians in Britain act, it is no surprise that they lost the empire and messed up Brexit. The harsh attitude showed shamelessness – the country mourned silently as the privileged elite observed, despising obedient citizens, as if mocking their misery.
If Johnson survives, it is not because Britain is gracious, but because the decision rests with Conservative MPs. Party lawmakers have brutally thrown Margaret Thatcher in the past and stabbed rivals (think Johnson and Michael Gove) in the back. But with fewer constituents complaining about the prime minister’s shenanigans and a lack of clarity on who should replace Johnson, Tory MPs might think kicking the ball further into the grass might be the way to go for now. .
There is Rishi Sunak, who would be the first prime minister from an ethnic minority if elected by lawmakers, but has so far remained loyal to Johnson. Liz Truss may also be interested, but she doesn’t have widespread support. Preeti Patel’s chances are slim. Now-backbencher Jeremy Hunt was Johnson’s rival last time out, but he lost the race once, although he is what Britons call “a safe pair of hands”. Most of Tory’s 359 lawmakers believe this too shall pass, but when they cling to the coat-tails of a disgraced leader, they only invite ridicule.
Salil Tripathi is a writer based in New York. Read Salil’s previous mint columns at www.livemint.com/saliltripathi
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