[Tick. Tock. ] Johnson's disregard for rules helped him get elected - but it's starting to wear thin

[Soph0571]

THIS:

The prime minister is sincere enough about liberty and too inattentive to detail to make a consistent authoritarian. His is a more infantile brand of tyranny that demands control yet is afraid of responsibility. It is a trait that flows not from any doctrine, but from the temperament that sees rules as a personal discomfort and treats duty as an invitation to defiance. Johnson wears the responsibilities of his office much as he wears his clothes: askew for theatrical effect.

That performance is integral to his appeal, but the quality that voters first find attractive in leaders can be a predictor of their undoing. There was a maverick charm in disregarding protocol and cutting legal corners when the purpose was getting Brexit done. The same ethos is more obnoxious when applied in service of Tory donors or indulgence of rule-bending allies.

No violation of constitutional principle could appal the British spirit more than queue jumping. That tendency may not be the most prominent aspect of Johnson’s government, but it is a persistent enough feature to breed resentment over time. It is a problem that will outlast the present policy dilemmas of the pandemic. The current challenge is choosing the right rules. But the origin of uncertainty and incoherence, as with corruption, is a prime minister who is himself governed by the principle that rules do not really matter.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/04/johnson-rules-government-covid-policy-regulation]

And THIS:



And THIS (as another example in a litany of examples):

In sworn evidence, Government admitted that some of Lord Bethell’s dealings with Abingdon had been conducted via WhatsApp or text message, and were held only on his private mobile phone. If that was the case for Abingdon, why not other VIPs too?

What’s more, in December last year, Lord Bethell was told his mobile phone would be searched for documents relating to this case. Just weeks later, it seems, he ‘replaced’ his phone because, Government lawyers say, it was ‘broken’. They are now not sure it will be possible to retrieve the WhatsApp and text messages.

Lord Bethell has overseen the awarding of billions of pounds of public contracts. Information revealing how these contracts came to be awarded may now be lost – or even destroyed.

https://goodlawproject.org/update/lord-bethell-new-phone/
Emphasis mine

MUST EQUAL THIS: (PLEASE)

@coldwarsteve

From Cold War Steve's Photoshop to gods ears..

Wrongdoing sits at the centre of this government. Everything they touch and do is dodgy... The venality and corruption at the heart of this administration is literally criminal. They need to be held accountable. As with the right wing in America their boundless arrogance makes them think they are infallible - sadly they are seemingly not wrong at the moment.

[Ocelot II]

1. Trump's Mini-Me.

"A more infantile brand of tyranny that demands control yet is afraid of responsibility." The only difference, I think, is that Trump is truly malevolent while BoJo is just a jackass.