The COVID Diaries – 51 18th May
It’s taken time, but it’s increasingly clear that Boris Johnson is not up to the job of being Prime Minister. He never was, but his opportunistic bid for the Tory leadership and an election fought against the hopeless Jeremy Corbyn enabled him to seize the reins of power, not that he was ever particularly interested in doing very much with them. His Eton boy posh accent and clever classical allusions provided a disguise to hide behind, but the mask has slipped. How long can this hopeless Prime Minister survive?
He has centralised power around himself, but faced with the worst pandemic to hit this country in living memory, he seems powerless to take effective decisions and implement coherent policies.
As Michael Gove said in 2016: “I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead”. Subsequent opportunism led to Gove “changing his mind.” He was right first time.