- Joined
- Mar 25, 2012
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- IOM
Surprisingly enough @ChopleyIOM I have agreed with virtually everything that you have posted over the last few weeks on this thread, but I disagree slightly on this one.
For me the visuals that this gives, that its pure science, nothing political and in no way party influenced is far greater than if BoJo and co had been there.
BoJo has made a meal of this, though I dont think anyone had much hope of coming through this smelling of roses and he was always on to a loser, but on this one I think he is right to get the science front and centre and take away from the past political f@@k ups that have been happening throughout the pandemic.
The thing is @cncas2123 I don't think that's the reason he wasn't there. Because the truth is this is all political now, and whilst it is right to be led by the science and for policy to be guided by the science, the decisions that are taken are taken by the government, the advisors advise, politicians decide.
A strong, confident leader who was on top of his brief would have been there to support his advisors and make the case to the British people why it was so important for them to listen, especially when we're staring down the barrel of another national lockdown with all the accompanying devastation that brings. (Economic, mental health, keeping families and friends apart, isolating the vulnerable, putting domestic abuse victims at increased risk etc.)
Johnson wasn't there because he doesn't want to be there, and because everyone knows he's terrible at being a leader, and because he has the moral authority of a dog with the shits caught short on a croquet lawn, and because his gameshow host shtick doesn't wash in such serious times, and because he blew apart his government's authority to tell anyone what to do when he ordered everyone to stand behind Dominic 'Eye Test' Cummings, despite the obvious and visible damage it was doing to societal cohesion in the face of the pandemic.
Nicola Sturgeon stands up every single day and gives a press conference, she supports her advisors and she takes questions, she explains what they're doing and why they're doing it, and makes the moral case for people to follow what she is telling them to do. That's a leader who understands that leaders need to be seen, and heard, and to keep in contact with the population they represent.
Johnson has none of that, he knows it, and his party knows it. His performances at PMQs are shambolic, and his performance at the Parliamentary Select Committee last week was embarrassing, no wonder they're keeping him out of sight.