A sight at the opera ...best of enemies Osborne and Gove
AS A passionate tale of allies turned rivals, thwarted ambition and the lust for power, Brexit and its fallout certainly has an operatic scale.
So perhaps it’s fitting that two Cabinet colleagues on opposite sides during the referendum have put aside their differences – to watch Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
Remainer George Osborne and Brexiteer Michael Gove were spotted at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany, where the four epic operas – about gods and heroes fighting for possession of a magic gold ring – are staged every year.
Once close friends, the pair were seen on Wednesday by University College London neuroscience professor John Hardy when Die Walkure was staged. His wife had noticed them the night before at a performance of Das Rheingold. Professor Hardy said: ‘They were just chatting friendlily having, I think, a beer or a glass of wine and some German bread.’
He said they did not appear to be with any other people and he felt ‘sure they must have arranged to be there together’. Both men left the Cabinet last year when Theresa May replaced David Cameron. Mr Gove was sent to the backbenches but made a surprise return following the election this June when he was made Environment Secretary.
Mr Osborne, who oversaw ‘Project Fear’ aimed at keeping Britain in the EU, was sacked as chancellor by Mrs May. After quitting Parliament, he is now editor of the London Evening Standard.