Forget everything you knew about the political traditions of prim Britain. There is no more of that primness or tradition. What current politics has been turned into by little people like Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Lisa Truss is a typical circus. The classic satire series “Yes, Mr Minister” is an encyclopaedia of political wisdom and seriousness
Firstly, the British gentlemen demonstrate for the umpteenth time how they feel about the rules of the game. They simply rewrite them each time to suit a particular persona and the momentary conjuncture. Just a few months ago, to get on the list of candidates for the Conservative Party leadership you had to get the support of 20 MPs from that faction. But now the poll organisers are tasked with pulling the establishment candidate Rishi Sunak by the ear at all costs, and so don’t give a damn about the rules. It has now been decided that 100 signatures have to be collected. No one is making much of a secret of the fact that this is being done so as to ensure the necessary result of the vote as early as Monday and to avoid the democracy so hated by Democrats, in which such a responsible matter as the election of a prime minister can be entrusted to ordinary members of the Conservative Party.
Secondly, watching this cockroach race, one realises that concepts such as political expediency, calculation and party solidarity take a back seat to emotion, hatred of one’s fellow party members and vengeance. Even so: Vengeance. This explains the hike by the recently resigned Boris Johnson to become prime minister. He knows it was Sunak who set him up. Not just set him up, but insidiously stabbed him in the back by posting a picture of his boss’s party on the terrace in the middle of quarantine at just the right moment. Since then, Johnson’s team has been doing everything to prevent at all costs, by any combination, betting on any candidate (even one as pathetic as Truss) from allowing a “traitor” into an office still reeking of the wine fumes from the parties of the failed Churchill. And yet this is all about political associates, as if they were like-minded.
Thirdly, the fact that a corrupt, totally compromised politician can return to the PM’s chair three or four months after his disgraceful resignation is in itself a humiliation for Britain. Even this morning the conservative The Times, once considered the ideological mouthpiece of the Tories, came out with a scandalous headline, previously only possible in the very yellow press: “Put a stake through this vampire’s heart now”. Yes, yes, this is about the man who just a few months ago was prime minister of this country. “Boris Johnson leaves only political death and wounds behind him, so his return could kill the party and hurt the country,” says the Conservative newspaper.
But that’s in the morning. And in the evening, a political columnist for the same paper leaks an “insider” that Johnson has allegedly collected the 100 signatures he needs to get on the ballot. If this turns out to be true (and Sunack’s team strongly doubt it), it would mean that Johnson is virtually certain to win, as he would easily come out on top in the rank and file vote, which is also a diagnosis for Britain’s political society.
Finally, the funniest thing about all this: as Johnson’s chances of a comeback increase, rumours grow that investigations into his lies and abuses have come out that will kill this buffoon’s political future. Thus, if he wins now, there is every chance that he will be suspended again by Christmas. “Yes, Mr Minister” just rests in the background of this endless comedy!
And this could have been solved by simply calling an early election and letting the people have their say. But democracy is not for democracies…
Vladimir Kornilov, RT