United Kingdom: Johnson’s Christmas party crisis
Boris Johnson has lost all credibility as prime minister, said Allister Heath in The Daily Telegraph. We now know that his staff broke lockdown rules to hold a Christmas party at his Downing Street residence last year, guzzling wine and cheese and swapping “secret Santa” presents while some 500 Britons a day were dying of the coronavirus—many of them perishing alone in the hospital, their loved ones forbidden to visit. Johnson initially denied that any such festive celebration had occurred, but when a video emerged of his staff joking about how they’d cover up the shindig, the prime minister changed his tune. First he said the party was not against the rules and when that didn’t calm the angry public, he ordered an investigation. At this point, Johnson’s “incompetence and moral failings” are well known to voters, but we can still be appalled by his government’s “shocking sense of superiority, the sneering elitism, and the subsequent lies.” Johnson is not liked by many lawmakers in his Conservative Party; his power comes from his popularity with voters. But 54 percent of Britons now think he should resign. That means he cannot lead. of Kabul, Johnson bowed to his animal-loving wife and insisted that the Royal Air Force help fly out the furry charges of a British dog-and-cat rescue charity, “limiting the number of humans who could be rescued.”
Boris is now seizing on every opportunity to change the subject from his screwups, said Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail. Can we really be sure that Carrie gave birth to a daughter last week, or was that “just another of Boris’ diversionary tactics?” And what about the prime minister’s dark warnings that the Omicron variant will infect a million Britons in the next two weeks and that we need new restrictions to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed? The restrictions Boris has proposed follow “no logic.” We are to wear masks in shops and cinemas, but not in pubs and restaurants. Most Brits will ignore these directives. “If Downing Street can’t be bothered to obey their own regulations, then why the hell should we?”