‘For Boris to be in hospital will be a huge blow to him’ – Harri
THE seriousness of Boris Johnson’s condition shows how even the most powerful people can be stricken by the coronavirus, regardless of whatever measures are put in place to protect them, according to one of his former senior aides.
Welsh journalist Guto Harri, who headed Mr Johnson’s communications team when he was Mayor of London, said his old boss would be immensely frustrated at having to step back from leading the government’s response to the crisis.
Mr Harri said: “It’s shocking, sobering and clearly disturbing that the virus is able to penetrate a fortified building like 10 Downing Street with armed guards outside. Something like this isn’t supposed to happen. In normal circumstances, he’s a hugely robust person with excellent physical health and great mental resilience. He has irrepressible energy, and for him to be on his back in hospital at a time of crisis will be a huge blow to him.”
Asked whether after his initial diagnosis, the Prime Minister had resumed all his duties too soon, Mr Harri said: “He was taking medical advice every day, which he followed. I don’t think it’s fair to criticise him for that.
“What has to be borne in mind is that a large part of his appeal as a politician is as someone who leads from the front. In the current situation he sees it as his personal responsibility to lead Britain’s fight against the coronavirus. There are big judgement calls to be made and it’s for him to make them. The buck really does stop with him. History would not be kind to a prime minister who appeared to duck his responsibilities.”
From a personal point of view, said Mr Harri, Mr Johnson would have lost sleep over his inability to be fully supportive of his pregnant partner Carrie Symonds, who also has the coronavirus: “Many people assume that because of his flamboyant political style, Boris Johnson has a wide circle of friends,” said Mr Harri. “In fact that’s not the case at all. He has a small circle of friends and they are very tightly knit. He’s also a very private person.
“He will feel absolutely terrible at not being able to support Carrie at this time, with the baby due in three months.”
Asked whether he thought Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab would be a reasonable substitute for Mr Johnson while the Prime Minister battles his own infection, Mr Harri said: “Dominic Raab is not an understudy for Boris.
“He’s a man of great intellect with an academic mind who was a successful commercial lawyer before entering politics, and who successfully defended Tony Blair against a subpoena from [former Serbian President] Slobodan Milosevic during his war crimes trial at The Hague.
“But Dominic Raab wouldn’t claim to be the great communicator-in-chief that Boris Johnson is.
“The most we can expect is that he will chair a Cabinet of equals.”