At least with Theresa May on Brexit you knew there had been some thought, some reflection, some preparation before she said anything. It might have been wrong or dangerous, but at least there was thought.
With Johnson he blurts out the first bullshit that springs to mind.
With Johnson he blurts out the first bullshit that springs to mind.
I find this really corrosive.
The intellectual laziness. The carelessness. The abject lack of understanding for those on the other side of the table. The chronic inability to put oneself in the shoes of others.
The intellectual laziness. The carelessness. The abject lack of understanding for those on the other side of the table. The chronic inability to put oneself in the shoes of others.
If I behaved the way Johnson does - either in my personal or professional life - I’d be a laughing stock.
No one would employ me. Friends wouldn’t talk to me or would disown me.
And yet Johnson is PM of UK through major crises.
No one would employ me. Friends wouldn’t talk to me or would disown me.
And yet Johnson is PM of UK through major crises.
Britain’s future somehow is in the hands of someone I’d not trust to be able to tie their own shoelaces.
As Fintan O’Toole has written, when historians look back at this time they will not be able to distinguish incompetence and outright malevolence.
When Gove said there is no such thing as experts he was I suppose predicting the government to come.
When Gove said there is no such thing as experts he was I suppose predicting the government to come.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not always a fan of Merkel. But she is not a fool, she does not take others for fools, and she is serious. At the very minimum that ought to be what people can ask of their politicians.
Why should you even care? some reading this thread are probably wondering. Yes, I’ve escaped the worst of the craziness as I live in Germany.
But looking back at the UK - where friends and family live - makes me genuinely scared.
But looking back at the UK - where friends and family live - makes me genuinely scared.
How the hell has a country that, for all its faults, still has a pretty good education system, managed to put in place a PM who thinks all it takes to get a trade deal with the EU is 6 weeks and a bit of oomph?
And then the rest of us commit serious time, energy, intellect to working out the significance of the bullshit Johnson made up on a whim?
I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what out of this mess to analyse. I don’t know if even trying to make sense of all this is worthwhile any more.
I see no way that the UK can avoid a vortex of an incompetently handled COVID response and an ill prepared Brexit without a Deal.
Many more people than necessary will die. Untold pain will be inflicted on many others.
Many more people than necessary will die. Untold pain will be inflicted on many others.
I’m sat here bereft of ideas, and very down. And I’m not even there currently...
/ends
/ends
