Boris Johnson wants to be the top man to fight Putin. He is trying to become the first man of democracy in the world. However, his political personality and behaviour do not allow him to hold such a position. Johnson has no position among the people because of his dishonesty. He breaks the laws that are made for the whole nation. He tells lies and tries to deceive people. His scandals and lies are against his political motto of democracy.
Downing Street Gatherings
reports that during the pandemic Johnson did not respect the lockdown rules. They often used the Downing Street garden as an extension of the workspace for both formal and informal gatherings. In May 2020, the UK Prime Minister sat in the Downing Street garden with his top adviser and private secretary. Before them was a cheese platter, an empty bottle of red wine and a half-empty glass of wine. Other Downing Street staffers chatted on the lawn in the late afternoon sun. Lockdown rules banned people from socialising indoors with people from other households. Moreover, the rules banned people from meeting with more than one person outdoors.
Johnson’s Political Personality Against Democracy
Johnson is not the right man to claim democracy. He is an infamous prime minister known for breaking the law. He is known for changing the law to suit his own interests. Reuters refers to some cases that reveal Johnson’s anti-democratic behaviour. These include:
Oct 26 – Lawmaker guilty of paid lobbying
Nov 3 – Government changes rules to save lawmaker
Nov 4 – U-turn on Paterson
Nov 22 – Peppa Pig speech
Nov 30 – Report on Christmas party during lockdown
Dec 7 – Video of staff joking about the party
Dec 8 – Johnson apologises, aide resigns
Dec 9 – Conservatives fined over flat refurbishment
Dec 14 – Conservative lawmakers rebel
Dec 17 – The Conservatives lose a parliamentary seat
Dec 17 – Lead investigator steps down
Dec 18 – Brexit minister resigns
Dec 19 – Garden party photo published
Jan 12 – PM says he attended lockdown gathering
Jan 14 – PM apologises to Buckingham Palace
Jan 24 – Report of Johnson’s birthday gathering
Jan 25 – Police investigation
Jan 31 – Gray publishes initial findings
Jan 31 – Accusing Starmer of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile as then director of public prosecutions
Feb 3 – Johnson clarifies remarks about Savile
Feb 7 – Starmer hounded by protesters
Oct 26 – Lawmaker guilty of paid lobbying
Such a long list of Johnson’s scandals and anti-democracy acts is shameful.
Johnson and Democracy
The damage Partygate is doing makes Johnson’s removal urgent. His continued presence in office is already destroying and corrupting the British democratic system. In a healthy democracy, the police would investigate Downing Street lockdown parties the same way they investigate any other crime. But that is not what has happened.
Adam Wagner, a barrister who has become a specialist on Covid rules, makes a good comment in this regard. He says “Why has the schedule of this investigation been so heavily influenced by what is convenient to the government? Every day that Johnson stays, his presence contaminates essential parts of the democratic body politic, the rot spreading through our institutions” (the Guardian ).
Johnson and Fight Against Putin
Johnson claimed Putin invaded Ukraine for fear that a successful Ukraine would trigger a pro-democracy revolution in Moscow. Johnson said Putin was in total panic about the prospect of a popular uprising if freedom flourished in Kyiv (Irish Examiner). With such mottos and claims, Johnson is trying to pretend to be a man of democracy. Under the pretext of democracy, he considers himself the leader of the fight against Putin. He has even made a so-called plan to support Ukraine in the fight against Putin.
In the New York Times, the British prime minister presented his plan for defeating Vladimir Putin in the invasion of Ukraine. Boris Johnson’s plan included the following six items:
- To mobilise an international humanitarian coalition for Ukraine
- To support Ukraine in its efforts to provide for its own self-defence
- To maximise economic pressures on Putin’s regime
- To prevent the creeping normalisation of what Russia is doing in Ukraine
- To pursue diplomatic paths to de-escalation on the basis of full participation by the legitimate government of Ukraine
- To strengthen security and resilience across the Euro-Atlantic region
Johnson is trying to achieve his political goals in Ukraine and Russia. He is not thinking about democracy in Ukraine or Russia. In his fight against Putin, Johnson is not honest about his political motto of democracy.
Concluding Remarks
Since the Partygate scandal erupted, Mr Johnson and his Conservative Party have sharply fallen in opinion polls. Some lawmakers from his own party are seeking ways to expel him as party leader and prime minister (the Wall Street Journal). The fall in opinion polls means that most people do not believe in Johnson. He is a liar known for his anti-democratic scandals. How can Johnson claim to be a man of democracy with such scandals and anti-democratic political behaviour?! How can he claim to be the right man for leadership in the fight against Putin under the pretext of democracy?! Johnson must stop deceiving people and quit as soon as possible.