Boris Johnson is not a ‘bumbling loveable buffoon’.
He uses this persona as a front for deflecting scrutiny, avoiding questions & building his Teflon brand.
At this time more than ever, we need serious journalism with journalists to ask serious questions about serious issues.
GLEN OWEN: So you’re feeling fully recovered, Prime Minister?
JOHNSON: Braaaah! Phwaar! I can jolly well show you if you like!
How on earth does an interview with the PM at a time of national crisis & what should be national mourning, end up with @BorisJohnson doing press ups?
Bumbling is his strategy.
“He put on a buffoon mask to become a celebrity, & now he can’t take it off.”
(J Lanchester, 2008)
“He seems to know that if we’re chuckling at him, we’re not likely to be thinking hard about his agenda, or doing anything to counter it.” (J Coe, 2013).
"He covers up crime with scandal & covers up malice with incompetence...
They want to project an image of being inept, instead of as having a cruel & well-defined plan.”
@sarahkendzior on Trump’s admin,
could have been writing about Boris Johnson’s govt. gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-trans…
Whilst the PM is the Bumbler-in-Chief, his inexperienced Cabinet seem to have adopted a similar technique
On 15/4, @Helen_Whately had a car-crash interview with @piersmorgan
On 23/4 - still not knowing her figures - she was sent back for more humiliation
The fact the govt maybe covering up malice with incompetence doesn't mean that they aren’t also incompetent.
The PM admitted he doesn’t read the scientific papers & this footage, taken on his return from 12 days in Kent, hints at a worrying lack of grasp on the unfolding crisis.
The PM & Carrie set off for their stay in Chevening on Valentines Day.
@JCalvertST told @C4Dispatches that “a number of people in Downing St were concerned the PM just wasn’t taking a lead. We were told that aides were told to cut down documents or he just wouldn't read them.”
Bumbling can hide ineptitude but it is also being used to mask the #HerdImmunityScandal.
The heart of this scandal is a #COVID strategy whose main focus is avoiding harming the economy (short term) & using it as a disrupter to reshape the UK (long term).
https://t.co/oyccwraMHK
In May, confusion around the govt’s new Stay Alert advice meant other proposals buried in the 60-page document went unscrutinised.
These include the “rapid re-engineering of govt structures & institutions” & building “new long-term foundations for UK”.
"Shall I tell you a terrible truth about politics & human nature & the way we live our lives? You can probably make a good case for almost any course of action.”
This 2013 interview gives a chilling insight into Boris Johnson & into what is happening in Britain now. #COVID19
Just as an eccentric & bumbling PM is far more palatable than a scheming one, so an incompetent govt is more palatable than a malevolent one.
But ineptitude is only the first part of govt strategy.
The next part will be an efficient rollout of 50m tests.
https://t.co/XKc66hkVx3
‘Hanlon's Razor’ says
“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.”
It tells us not to assume the worst in the actions of others.
But those with bad intentions - particularly if in positions of trust - can exploit this. https://t.co/BCjHbCHFJr
Hannah Arendt says “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule are people for whom the distinction between fact & fiction & the distinction between true & false no longer exist.”
It is vital that journalists & our media keep pointing out these distinctions.
As @BorisJohnson makes clear, his strategy is sometimes to pretend not to know what's going on.
He’d rather appear absent-minded, bumbling & incompetent than scheming & malevolent.
This isn’t to say he & his govt aren’t also incompetent. #HerdImmunity
#Grayling cost the UK £3bn in 5 years.
@JohnJCrace wrote: “That means we could have paid him £1bn to stay at home, doing nothing but watch TV & mowing the lawn, & still have been £2bn better off.”
His appointment is part of the govt’s #BumblingStrategy.
https://t.co/LpeZs6vKrR
This seems like part of the govt’s ongoing #BumblingStrategy.
There is still confusion on #Facecoverings for takeaway sandwich shops:
@MattHancock says “compulsory”
@10DowningStreet says “not necessary”
@AlokSharma says “it depends”
#COVID19 #COVID
The PM’s ex-boss at the Telegraph, Max Hastings, explains the PM’s bumbling act isn’t all an act.
“Boris isn’t pretending to be chaotic he really is utterly chaotic. Getting him to do his expenses, or fill in pieces of paper sign or sign forms for as almost an impossible task.”
The PM’s sister reveals her brother realised that being chaotic could be an advantage when he was in a school play.
“He hadn’t learned his lines so he hid behind a pillar & read them out, which was obviously much funnier than if he’d learned them perfectly.” #BumblingStrategy
This background becomes relevant now as it helps explode the widely accepted narrative: that part of the reason the UK was so inexplicably under-prepared for #COVID19 & the reason that so many fatal errors were made, is that the PM is “bumbling” & his cabinet are inexperienced.
If that narrative is exploded what do we put in its place?
I’ve been trying to work that out for almost 5 months & making progress.
My starting point, on 5 March, was the #HerdImmunityScandal. It has provided clues to piecing together the bigger picture.
https://t.co/mUOdTUi079
The good thing about incompetence for leaders & their cabinet’s, is that it doesn’t carry any legal sanction.
“We are just weeks away from school reopenings & the looming fall flu season, which the aborted plan had accounted for as a critical deadline.”
vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/h…
The #BumblingStrategy applies to the entire Cabinet
Johnson: Columnist
Williamson: Sales (fireplaces)
Schapps: Sales (“Get-Rich-Quick”)
Patel: PR
Dowden: PR
Gove: Journalist
Sunak: Banker
Sharma: Banker
Hancock: Banker
Rees-Mogg: Investor
Truss: Accounts
The PM taking 3 holiday's during a crisis is problematic when coupled with reports that he's not on top of his brief
Channel 4 reported that, when he went to Chevening for 12 days, "aides were told to cut down documents or he just wouldn't read them."
In 1994, the govt established a Committee on Standards in Public Life chaired by Lord Nolan.
It came up with 7 principles of public live for politicians.
1) Selflessness
2) Integrity
3) Objectivity
4) Accountability
5) Openness
6) Honesty
7) Leadership
gov.uk/government/pub…
"Where on earth is Boris Johnson in all this? No one denies that he's entitled to a holiday, by the country is entitled to a Prime Minister." @skynewsniall asks @NickGibbUK (via @KayBurley)
The #BumblingStrategy has worked for @BorisJohnson all his life
It worked well when he was an MP & Mayor of London
But as Foreign Secretary & PM it’s coming unstuck
Under scrutiny, bumbling & gags don’t work
We see less of him. He crams everything (PMQs, etc) into Wednesdays.
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