Aw hell, not that I wish Boris Johnson ill, but his first appearance yesterday on the steps of no 10 after his encounter with C-19 confirmed all the worst we have come to expect. His hyperbolic manner (“I’m not prepared to throw away all the hard work of the British people”), the euphemisms (C-19 is a “mugger”), the highly contentious claims (“we have shielded the NHS” – tell that to the staff who have died through want of PPE), and “it’s been a success” (even though the measure of success, ie keeping the death toll below 20,000, has been breached and can only increase) – all this tells me he is not serious about handling it as a genuine national emergency but is milking it for his personal and party advantage.
In comparison, Nicola Sturgeon has been far more impressive. She is genuinely trying to take us with her in the decision-making process, saying up front that there are complexities and uncertainties. Only occasionally do her nationalistic petticoats show, like when she says she wouldn’t diverge from the UK trajectory for narrow political point-scoring – she can afford to in this matter, but it will be a first – and when she differentiates her style from Westminster saying she wants a “grown-up conversation” with us – she’s entitled to, and she doesn’t let the opportunity pass without drawing attention to it.
So, we’ll all look forward to St Nicola and her party having a grown-up conversation and acknowledging complexities and uncertainties when it comes to the matter of separating Scotland from the rest of the UK. But that’s for another day.
To all my readers – keep sane, keep safe.