It seems that these days everyone, bar people with a sense of proportion, hates Boris Johnson. I thought it might be useful to catalogue the various factions who have knives out for the Prime Minister.
- The pandemic-deniers who think the lockdown restrictions are an attack on freedom and a conspiracy to introduce a fascist surveillance state. These will include both readers of The Daily Mail and friends of Piers Corbyn.
- The lock-down lovers who think that Boris has blood on his hands for not locking down harder, sooner, longer…
- People generally frustrated by the disruption the pandemic has caused to their lives and need to lash out because it is more comforting to believe that someone is in control and messing up than that no one is control because a virus cannot be controlled.
- The Remainers who hate Boris because he ‘got Brexit done’
- The Brexiteers who think that Boris did not get Brexit done enough because the Royal Navy isn’t torpedoing migrant boats
- Keir Starmer supporters who think this is Labour’s moment
- Rees-Mogg hang ’em and flog ’em Tories who think this is their moment
- Journalists who wish to sensationalise and/or virtue signal
- Rats who think the ship is sinking
But what is the most depressing is the realisation that, with the holiday season under threat, half these people are hoping that Boris will declare a lockdown and hindsight it proves it wasn’t necessary. The other half are hoping he doesn’t call for a lockdown and hindsight shows a lockdown would have been the wiser choice.
Both factions are hoping that whatever he does, it is the wrong thing.
Neither faction cares about the public interest. What is in the best interests of the public is secondary to Boris-haters hoping he will misstep. One faction wants to blame him for “ruining Christmas”, and the other wants to blame him for “unnecessary deaths”.
This is what politicising the pandemic has brought us to: a society torn asunder by malice, ill-will and humbug. This is really what is both ruining Christmas and costing lives.