Newton said, in his famous law of Gravity, that everything that goes up must come down.
A more accurate concept could not be applied to the fall of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of a country so attached to protocols and the strictest measures of social behavior, in terms of diplomacy and politics.
In England, from the time of Churchill and even further back, behaviour, reputation and good manners were the bread and butter and Boris had been skipping forms and substance for a long time.
Throughout his working life, first as a journalist and later as a politician, Johnson had overcome scandals and cover-ups thanks to his renowned speaking abilities; he is also very cunning, arrogant and reveals on many occasions his lack of responsibility and philosophy for work.
With the credentials cited above, the logical question for the world of political communication is… How is it that Boris Johnson came to direct the office at 10 Downing Street?
In modern politics, conduct, image, preparation and political office are determining factors in exercising government responsibly. Add to the above, dear reader of Merca2.0, the power of the alliances that each politician must weave with his own party and with the opposition.
This led Boris to lose the support of his own party, the Conservatives, and he had to endure the resignation of more than 30 officials from his government. Faced with this disorder and the increasingly weak explanations of the PM, he had no other option than to announce his retirement to depress the Tories and, without a doubt, the Crown itself, which only managed to review in the newspapers the political chaos that the whole world saw.
Thus, in front of the lectern located in the official residence of the government, a place that has given fame and power to the English, figures such as Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Neville Chamberlain, Clement Attle and Winston Churchill himself, Johnson announced his resignation in these terms:
“I’m sorry I didn’t convince my colleagues, I’m sorry I can’t continue leading, but no one is indispensable in political life.”
It is sad to observe a fall of such magnitude, since Boris had come to office to help the British forward in the midst of the Brexit crisis, personal lobbying that earned him popularity. However, it is even more unfortunate to see that the reasons for his resignation are focused on the organization of a couple of parties in full confinement due to COVID, which ended up sinking his reputation.
What do we have so far?… There are parties and citizens who do not tolerate the excesses of those who direct their social and economic destinies, and act accordingly.
Boris Johnson, despite the fact that he clings to power until this fall, is the target of more pressure to immediately leave his post and place an interim one who will change the political image of that government.
Reputation matters, a lot.
We’ll meet later.