Opinion | Boris Johnson's Last Gamble
By Philip Yeung, a university teacher
PKY480@gmail.com
One leak will sink a ship, so says an adage. But in the case of Boris, he is facing a floodgate. At last count, there were a total of 9 documented unlawful parties at No. 10. Now, it emerges, there could be a 10th. With staff swipe cards to nail the comings and goings at these gatherings, Johnson's fate seems sealed.
The Chief Investigator of "Partygate", Sue Gray, is due to release her findings this week. Nothing Boris says, between now and then, will explain away his culpability, and no one is in the mood to listen if he does, not even when he suddenly resorted to humoring the public by mumbling Chinese in parliament. There is only one thing left for him to do: a last throw of the dice. So throwing caution to the wind, Johnson has staged his final Houdini act. The escape artist has opted for a risky sleight-of-the-hand, a devilish distraction.
Days before his survival is decided, Boris has unexpectedly announced that Britain will now live with the virus, and not try to contain it: no more lockdowns and no more masks. He is preempting science, staking his fate and Britain's future in unproven herd immunity. This move is as desperate as it is daring, calculated to elbow out the nagging news of the scandal. It is Boris at his reckless best:
First, it may drown out the noise over the worsening scandal.
Second, it appeases his backbenchers who oppose a general lockdown, with some agitating to toss him out. Far from showing courage, Boris is kowtowing to his naysayers. He is constitutionally incapable of taking a principled stand on anything.
Third, it shows he is still in charge and relevant. Being in the limelight is his natural habitat. If he is out of it, he doesn't exist.
Fourth, there is a huge slice of the British public that is virus-weary and ready to embrace the libertarian vision of sudden freedom. Pandemic fatigue may deliver him a new constituency.
Fifth, if he is wrong about the science and loses the gamble, he will be out in the wilderness, but it won't be his headache anymore.
Johnson's polls have plunged since news of the illegal parties leaked and nothing can stop the nose-dive. Boris is facing the humiliating prospect of a no-confidence vote and the near-certainty of defeat if it goes to one. So, as Trump says, when nothing else works, it's time to "think big" and "act bold", and there is nothing bigger and bolder than lifting lockdowns and discarding masks, delivering a return to normalcy, despite a dangerous surge in infections up and down the country.
Any way you slice it, it's a huge and hazardous gamble with millions of British lives in exchange for giving Johnson another of his nine lives. He has chosen the path opposite to China's pursuit of "zero infection". Will this buy him time for his political resurrection, or will it be the last nail in his coffin? One thing is for sure: if Boris doesn't act, he is toast. His options are running out. He is betting that enough people will buy into his boldness and the offer of freedom. This is a man who plays at being Prime Minister. Time and again, he gets away with his silly antics and goofy gaffes. But this time, it's no joke.
Let's not fool ourselves, Boris is not exactly a poster boy for intelligent democracy or the long-awaited hero to return Britain to its former glory. One can even be forgiven for thinking that this "blond ambition", this imperial relic, may harbor fantasies of refighting the Opium War against China if it can save his political scalp or give him a self-glorifying halo. Why else would he send Queen Elizabeth II, the brand-new British aircraft carrier to the South China Sea? Except this time, the Chinese are no longer wearing pig-tails but waiting in ambush with carrier-killer missiles, with Boris in a leaky boat.
Instead of clutching a halo, Boris is clutching at a straw.
Is God on Johnson's side or will Britain go down with Boris this time? We will soon find out.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Philip Yeung:
Opinion | Who are the world's good leaders?
Opinion | Hong Kong gets a second bite at the cherry
Opinion | China in a Kangaroo Court
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