UK General Discussion:The Rt. Hon Alex Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Populist Hero

[brucejoel99]

Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus and is self-isolating at Downing Street, but will still lead the government's response to the accelerating outbreak.

So it's possible that every member of the British Government he has met over the last week could get it?

[Silent Hunter]

Possible, but unlikely.

[Farmlands]

https://www.ft.com/content/c7f5a8bc-eb0e-45e5-a080-bbfd6d317def

Boris Johnson's approval ratings have risen by 25 points in reaction to his response on the coronavirus outbreak, more than any other polled leader. I find it that incredibly remarkable, since I don't think his response has been particularly outstanding in any form, but the British public seems to disagree.

[brucejoel99]

https://www.ft.com/content/c7f5a8bc-eb0e-45e5-a080-bbfd6d317def

Boris Johnson's approval ratings have risen by 25 points in reaction to his response on the coronavirus outbreak, more than any other polled leader. I find it that incredibly remarkable, since I don't think his response has been particularly outstanding in any form, but the British public seems to disagree.

The general consensus among most people seems to be that the government took the best possible measures to create a balance between protecting public health & the economy, which is fair.

And honestly, all of the political commentators knew that post-election Boris would be very different to Brexit/election Boris. It's just that a crisis has forced him into a very somber position which the politicos knew he was capable of operating. He's a good political operator. It's just also that he's a massive chancer, but that's a different argument.

[Pericles]

Aren't 25 point bumps the standard reaction to the coronavirus crisis in most countries? It is of course a big bump, but it's not that surprising. Trump's 2 point bump is the odd one out, and I'd think that's because Trump's response has been the worst and it's like he's doing everything possible not to be a strong, reassuring leader to rally the nation through the crisis.

[EastAnglianLefty]

Part of the issue is that Johnson's ratings were weaker than his underlying political position, because a significant section even amongst his voters considered him to be a bit of a clown, but still better than the alternatives. So taking a vaguely sensible line and being given an opportunity to appear statesmanlike had more potential upside for him than many other leaders.

Another part of the issue is that he gets very favourable press coverage anyway and that applied even more so in the early stages of the outbreak, where the rally round the flag effect probably affected journalists most of all. Given that there do still seem to be significant problems with testing and PPE availability and given that a lot of the measures he got plaudits for initially are fairly likely to unwind in quite a nasty way, it's an open question whether this will continue.

[CumbrianLefty]

This morning's papers, with very few exceptions, did not make good reading for the PM or his team.

Now that may not continue, but if it does its hard to see it failing to impact on the ratings.

[Blair]

To put my tin foil hat I tend to completely ignore polls A.) This far from an election B.) During such a protracted crisis.

The thing that has been forgotten in the hysteria is we're still behind Italy & Spain; and most crisis's & the political response comes much later (the appeasers of Munich only got booted out of Government 9 months later after the fiasco of Norway)

It's when people see the deaths & can actually point to what has be done abroad in comparison to the UK.

Polls aside; there's clearly a wobble in Government. This happened 2 (or was it 3) weeks ago and was the reason the daily press conferences started along with a more joined up PR strategy.

The problem is we've moved away from the PR (please stay at home!) stage to the 'where the hell are the tests & ventilators' stage- the latter can't be changed by media tactics.

[afleitch]

I think the government's response to immediate economic concerns were very thorough and unprecedented but as you say, the narrative has now shifted to the NHS frontline and earlier promises are now falling short so there's more pushback

[MABA 2020]

It's difficult to judge Boris too harshly when there's an example of a far worst response just across the sea in a country Britons are quite interested in, but I think over time the governments failings will cause his ratings to drop.

I mean I don't think anyone here expects this to end quickly right?

[brucejoel99]

It's difficult to judge Boris too harshly when there's an example of a far worst response just across the sea in a country Britons are quite interested in, but I think over time the governments failings will cause his ratings to drop.

I mean I don't think anyone here expects this to end quickly right?

Stupid & wrong people do. Unfortunately, there's a lot of them.

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/joepike/status/1247240533115670529?s=20

[politicallefty]

I had a feeling it was a lot more serious than they were letting on.

[afleitch]

Horrific news for anyone. I hope he gets through this.

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1247242253199912960?s=20

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1247242253199912960?s=20

December 13, 2019: "a landslide majority of 80 seats surely signals the end to the instability that the UK has faced over these previous years"...

2020: "Don't hold my f**king beer; I could have a deadly virus!"

[Thomas D]

Will Raab be speaking tonight?

[urutzizu]

If, God forbid, something happens, Boris will go down as Martyr of epic proportions for the British right and much of British Society as a whole. He will have been martyred with a 25+% lead in the polls, Britain having left the European Union, a Landslide Majority, upended much of Conservative economic philosophy and turned British politics in an unprecedented way towards populism. In one year. Justified or not, his legacy would be seen as Overshadowing every Conservative Prime Minister since Churchill, including Thatcher.

But, it looks like he will be okay. I wish him well.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

Hoping that Johnson makes a full recovery over the next few weeks.

If, God forbid, something happens, Boris will go down as Martyr of epic proportions for the British right and much of British Society as a whole. He will have been martyred with a 25+% lead in the polls, Britain having left the European Union, a Landslide Majority, upended much of Conservative economic philosophy and turned British politics in an unprecedented way towards populism. In one year. Justified or not, his legacy would be seen as Overshadowing every Conservative Prime Minister since Churchill, including Thatcher.

But, it looks like he will be okay. I wish him well.

It would seem similar to James K. Polk. Did everything he wanted and then died three months after leaving office.

[Cassius]

It would certainly do a lot for his kleos, that much is certain.

But here’s hoping he makes it.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

It would certainly do a lot for his kleos, that much is certain.

But here’s hoping he makes it.

As a leftist, I hope he pulls through partly because of what dying would do to his kleos.

But also because I genuinely don't think he deserves to die of coronavirus, especially at a relatively young age.

[Helsinkian]

Will Raab be speaking tonight?

Spoke very briefly.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Obviously no-one should wish anyone to die of COVID-19. It's also my opinion that Boris is a much more preferable Tory prime minister than any likely alternative, I prefer the unprincipled charlatan to the hardcore bastard ideologue like Raab.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I won't lie that I have a very, very low opinion of BoJo. In fact, I can't stand him both politically and personally, but the last thing Britain needs right now is its' Prime Minister dying or being ill for a long period of time.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Obviously BoJo doesn't deserve to die and I wish him a full recovery.

However, I do have to say this serves him well for his disastrous management of the outbreak thus far. Usually, it's only ever regular people who pay the price for the mistakes of the ruling elite. It is nice to see that for once, a politician is forced to bear personal consequences for their actions. If that happened more often, the world would be a better place.