Will Boris Johnson’s apology land with the public?
Boris Johnson was once a formidable political figure in this country. For who else could get away with hanging from a zipwire in London, waving the Union Jack, and still be elected years later as Prime Minister? Not Ed Miliband, who was crucified for eating a bacon sandwich, that’s for sure.
But there is more to the charm of Boris, as he was once affectionately known. The charm was mostly in the way he could get away with things other politicians could not, and worm himself out of usually-sackable offences, such as historic comments comparing Muslim women to “letterboxes” and, more recently, misleading an inquiry into finances surrounding who paid for the expensive refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.
The one place Boris Johnson has always wanted to be — Downing Street — might finally be his undoing. The thing about Johnson, who was described by a teacher at Eton College as feeling “affronted when criticised for what amounts to a gross failure of responsibility”, is that he has consistently gotten away with it. Nothing — until now — has ever really caught up with him.
We see the description from Johnson’s former teacher more acutely than ever now, except this schoolboy is now Prime Minister. The gross failure of responsibility this time is to follow his own rules in the middle of a pandemic, where thousands upon thousands of his people were dying. Though he half-apologised in Parliament today for attending a party while the public could only see one other person outdoors, it was only a half-apology.
What we were told is essentially: ‘I turned up to my own garden where 40 others were drinking their own booze, and I thought it was a work gathering.’
The other half of the apology would mean Johnson having to admit he was at a party organised by one of his closest aides, he should not have allowed it to happen and, as such, will be resigning. Why? Because of the public standards that apply to those in our offices of state. That is ultimately why now-disgraced former Health Secretary Matt Hancock resigned.
So, will Boris Johnson’s half-apology land with the public? Only time will tell. But the visceral anger felt by many who lost loved ones on FaceTime and through windows will not dissipate. The all-too-real fury of those who abided by the rules to the detriment of their own mental health will similarly not evaporate. And if Boris Johnson survives this storm after Sue Gray’s inquiry into the parties hosted right under his nose, it in no way means he will fight the next election.
No Conservative MP is willing to risk their seat for any leader, and that is exactly what will happen if he is to limp on.
Mr Johnson was invincible, gaining seats in Labour heartlands with the promise of ‘levelling up’ the nation. Instead, his crafty and offensive apology has only levelled down the nation, lowering the tone by leaving the office of Prime Minister in disrepute.
