Less than 12 months ago, he was prime minister. Barely a year before that, it seemed not inconceivable he could govern for a decade (people make fun of this tweet but it was right at the time).
And yet today’s debate on the Privileges Committee report and recommended 90-day suspension over Boris Johnson’s behaviour doesn’t make the Evening Standard front page, or the BBC News top story, or the water cooler chat.
That is not to say it is unimportant. Misleading Parliament is a serious offence because our system falls apart quite quickly if ministers, let alone the prime minister, cannot be trusted to tell the truth to MPs.
Nor is it that the story has gone away – if anything, it is widening further. Police are now assessing new Partygate evidence from Chequers and Downing Street. While the Daily Mirror has released footage of a lockdown-busting party held in December 2020 at the Conservative Party’s campaign headquarters. There were ‘save the date’ invitations made.
But the reality is that Johnson is no longer an MP, while two-thirds of voters believe he mislead Parliament – including half of Conservative voters.
So why doesn’t Rishi Sunak attend the debate and make a brilliant address denouncing his predecessor, something halfway between Khruschev’s ‘Secret Speech’ and what Aaron Sorkin would write?
The short answer is Sunak is hosting the Swedish prime minister, which sounds like it should be a euphemism but isn’t. The longer answer is that he doesn’t want to further provoke Tory party members, many of whom still support Johnson. But I find it odd.
By abstaining, Sunak is writing Labour HQ campaign leaflets for them, while also feeding a narrative that he is too weak to stand up to Johnson and for those who followed lockdown rules. Moreover, the rump of Johnson loyalists will remain hostile to his government whatever the prime minister does. It’s curious.
In the comment pages, Dylan Jones says you must head to deepest Texas to see the cult of Trump in all its sheer weirdness. Tanya Gold takes aim at ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn: the big lie’, a documentary-cum-conspiracy theory that puts that failure of Corbynism at anyone but those involved. While Melanie McDonagh reckons the only good exams take place on pen and paper.
And finally, “salty, one-dimensional soup” – Josh Barrie’s latest hate-filled culinary column on the cheese fondue.
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