SPECULUM VERUM
The opportunities are rare, in which people really believe Boris Johnson, what he says. This was the case last weekend. He had to cancel the lockdown-free Christmas period, which he had promised the English for so long. That he does this with a “heavy heart”., actually seemed believable.
It was a Moment of revelation. Johnson's performance made the great emptiness clear, which gaps between the conservative's airy promises and the real Corona world. A vacuum, which is now filled with the anger and fear of a nation, which has been bombarded with horror reports ever since.
From delivery bottlenecks in the English Channel to an “out of control virus variation” to billions in money, die wegen plötzlich geschlossener Geschäfte und abgesagter Reisepläne verloren gehen. Nicht zu reden vom Frust von Millionen, denen der Premier bis vor ein paar Tagen noch eine rauschende fünftägige Weihnachtsparty versprochen hatte, in der drei Haushalte mit unbeschränkter Personenzahl feiern sollten, als gäbe es keine Pandemie.
Stattdessen dürfen die Menschen seit dem am Sonntag in Kraft getretenen Lockdown auf unbestimmte Zeit nur in Ausnahmen ihr Haus verlassen, geschweige denn Besuch empfangen. Mit bitteren Wahrheiten kann besser klarkommen, wer darauf vorbereitet ist. Im britischen Fall gab es keine Vorbereitung. Der Premier gaukelte seinen Bürgern wider besseres Wissen etwas vor. Dass Neuansteckungen in Kent, wo die neue Variante grassiert, trotz des Lockdowns nicht zurückgingen, was known long before last weekend.
It is questionable, whether the blockade declared by the EU states in response to the virus variant is preparing the British for this, what Brexit could mean, especially since there is still no agreement ten days before the deadline. With which the Corona chaos would seamlessly transition into the Brexit chaos. Few will still be able or willing to differentiate, which bottleneck and which emergency measure is due to what. The frustration, if Boris Johnson fails to keep his big promises again, will be the same.