GET A GRIP Profile picture
Jun 10, 2023 14 tweets 6 min read Read on X
#THREAD

A great article on Boris Johnson's resignation, by German journalist @annettedittert - who since 2008 has worked in London as senior correspondent & bureau chief for ARD German TV, & in 2019 was awarded "political journalist of the year" for her reporting on #Brexit.
'The party is over.'

Johnson's departure is a victory for democracy over Britain's declining political culture. And it shows that even a prime minister must not lie to parliament.

A commentary by Annette Dittert.

Johnson's political career ends as it began: with brazen lies. Image
In his farewell statement, which is more like the heated tantrum of a five-year-old than that of a former PM, Johnson explained his departure as the result of a "witch hunt" called for by anti-Brexit, pro-Europeans & other members of the "establishment". None of this is true. Image
He is solely to blame for his case. The parliamentary committee of inquiry, which after months of deliberations has now clearly come to the conclusion that Johnson lied to parliament, consists of a majority of Tories, the chairman, Bernard Jenkin, is even an arch-Brexiteer. Image
And even if Johnson leaves open a possible return to politics in his statement, the truth is different. Even if he'll definitely continue to haunt behind the political stage and occasionally set fire to one or the other backdrop - the party's over for him. And that's good. Image
The so-called Privileges Committee, the parliamentary investigative committee whose report is expected to be published in the next few days, has restored one of the essential principles of parliamentary democracy, that the parliament must not be lied to, even by its PM. Image
The exact text is not yet known, but it is clear from Johnson's statement that the report does not let him get off as a minor case. The consequence of such a finding would have been a ten-day expulsion from the House of Commons, followed by a by-election, which he may have lost. Image
Johnson's resignation is nothing more than a last-ditch effort to make the headlines again.

At least in Great Britain he should succeed in the next few days. But that shouldn't detract from what the Privileges Committee has achieved here: Image
a victory for democracy over Britain's increasingly deteriorating political culture. Even a prime minister is not allowed to lie to parliament, so the factual truth remains a valuable asset and the crucial foundation for holding politicians accountable in a democracy. Image
The extraordinarily strong position of the executive in the British parliamentary system has often been criticized in the past, & rightly so. A PM with a clear majority can do more or less whatever he wants on the island - if necessary, even disregard basic rules of parliament. Image
Johnson repeatedly took this to the extreme during his time as prime minister, the most extreme case being the illegal suspension of parliament in the middle of the legislative period in 2019 because Johnson did not like its attitude critical of Brexit. Image
But there are checks & balances in the British system. Weeks after overturning Parliament, the Supreme Court reinstated it in autumn 2019. The current decision of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee is a similarly important event for British political culture in this respect. Image
It is not surprising that in his statement Johnson angrily insulted this committee as ridiculous and denounced it as an undemocratic "kangaroo court". Image
He leaves the political arena exactly as he came: with a lot of noise and full of contempt for the democratic institutions of Great Britain, which he used for a while but just couldn't completely destroy. Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with GET A GRIP

GET A GRIP Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @docrussjackson

Apr 22
🧵

Two Priests, who both smoke, go the Pope.

The first asks "Is it OK to smoke while I'm praying?"

The Pope replies "No! You should be focused on God!"

The second Priest asks "Is it OK to pray while I'm smoking?"

The Pope replies "Of course, there's never a bad time to pray" Image
Nigel Farage’s rhetorical technique of framing controversial or inflammatory statements as questions, often defended as “just asking questions,” is a well-documented strategy - sometimes called “JAQing off” in online discourse - that has drawn significant criticism. Image
This approach involves posing questions to imply a controversial viewpoint without explicitly endorsing it, thereby maintaining plausible deniability. Farage often uses this strategy to raise issues around immigration, national identity, and 'wokeness' or 'political correctness'. Image
Read 36 tweets
Apr 18
🧵

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was a response to the atrocities of WWII and the Holocaust, designed to prevent such horrors reoccurring.

Withdrawing risks weakening human rights, international isolation, destabilised peace agreements, and authoritarian drift. Image
Adopted in 1950 by the Council of Europe, the ECHR was a collective response to the Holocaust, during which about 11 million people, including 6 million Jews, were systematically exterminated, exposing the urgent need for a legal framework to prevent such horrors from recurring.
The Council of Europe, established in 1949 to promote democracy, rule of law, and human rights, made the ECHR a cornerstone of its mission.

Influenced by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the ECHR ensured states uphold fundamental rights.
Read 33 tweets
Apr 17
🧵

Comparing political rhetoric across eras is a sensitive task, as context, intent, and historical outcomes differ vastly.

In 1990, Ivana Trump said her husband Donald owned a copy of “My New Order” – a printed collection of Hitler's speeches – which he kept by the bedside... Image
Some of Trump’s statements have been noted by historians, critics, and media for echoing themes or phrasing used by Adolf Hitler, particularly in their dehumanizing language, scapegoating of groups, and authoritarian undertones.

Below, with @grok's help, I’ll provide examples of Trump’s quotes that have been cited as resembling Hitler’s rhetoric, alongside Hitler’s statements for comparison, drawing from credible sources, focusing on specific language & themes, ensuring accuracy, & avoiding exaggeration. Image
Read 20 tweets
Apr 17
🧵

Most people know very little about Trump's new best friend, El Salvador’s strongman leader, Nayib Bukele, who's been sat in the White House being adored by Trump and his team of fawning, dangerously unhinged sociopathic bootlickers... Image
Read this excellent article by Professor of International Politics at Lancaster University, Amalendu Misra, the author of seven critically acclaimed monographs on conflict and peace, whose primary research concerns violence in the political process.

theconversation.com/nayib-bukele-e…
Trump has unleashed a string of controversial policies since returning to the White House that have put his administration at odds with most of the world. He's also forged an alliance with one country that is willing to do his bidding abroad: El Salvador.

theconversation.com/most-of-the-wo…
Read 26 tweets
Apr 17
🧵

The techno-dystopia many have warned about looks a lot closer today, after @WIRED revealed that Peter Thiel's #Palantir (which has a £500 million contract with #NHS England to manage our patient data across NHS trusts) is involved in Elon Musk’s DOGE.

wired.com/story/palantir…
If you're unaware of who unhinged billionaire tech-bro Peter Thiel is, and why he should have nothing to do with the UK or our #NHS, or how he groomed and installed his protégé JD Vance in the White House, or how he's not keen on democracy, read this:

The BMA are concerned about patient data privacy & Palantir’s ties to US intelligence.

DOGE, Palantir, & IRS representatives have been collaborating to build a single API layer above all IRS databases at an event previously characterized as a “hackathon.”
publictechnology.net/2023/11/22/hea…
Read 25 tweets
Apr 16
🧵 A scholar who specialises in how Universities respond to authoritarian pressure across different political systems, cultural contexts & historical moments warns that compliance with the Trump administration will not protect their funding & independence.
theconversation.com/universities-i…Image
Many American universities, widely seen globally as beacons of academic integrity and free speech, are giving in to demands from the Trump administration, which has been targeting academia since it took office.

psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/darwin…
Even before seizing power in 1933, the Nazi Party was closely monitoring German universities through nationalist student groups & sympathetic faculty, flagging professors deemed politically unreliable – particularly Jews, Marxists, liberals & pacifists.

theguardian.com/education/2021…
Read 15 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(