At the beginning of last week came the third phase: overt hostility. It was unsurprising to find the anti-Tory Daily Mirror in the vanguard with its
accusation that Johnson and his government “were criminally slow to respond to the threat” and lamenting the “mixed messages and an absence of clarity”.
But the “Boris distancing” took hold even in papers previously sympathetic to the government’s plight and even in those noted as fervent cheerleaders for Johnson. Look, for instance, at the Sun’s unexpectedly pointed criticism in a
leading article which echoed the Mirror’s viewpoint.
It took Johnson to task for taking far too long in enacting legislation to enforce social distancing. “The Sun,” it said, “has largely backed the Downing Street response so far … But there is a shambolic ‘on the hoof’ feel to it now.”
Another whose faith was shaken, was one of Johnson’s most enthusiastic press supporters, the aforementioned title’s political columnist, Trevor Kavanagh. Looking to a future public inquiry into the handling of the crisis,
he suggested a likely outcome: “It may be that Boris Johnson was too soft, too trusting, too unwilling to make hard choices.”
If Kavanagh’s jibe surprised No 10, then the Times’s
leader last Monday must have come as a shock. Johnson’s performance “has been chequered”. Why had he “disappeared from view” in February? Why had he failed to preside over the first Cobra meeting to discuss the pandemic? Why, even as the scale became apparent, did he not take greater measures? The Times’s conclusion was laced with sarcasm: “The country needs to know that Mr Johnson has a coherent strategy. Otherwise the prime minister who dreamt of being Churchill may find himself cast as Neville Chamberlain.”
At the end of the week, the Daily Mail joined the growing chorus of disapproval by accusing the government of having been “lamentably behind the curve” and urging it to “raise its game … fast”.
The Sunday Times took a similar line. Why had Britain not tested as widely and efficiently as Germany?
The
Observer was amazed at the lack of testing kits, as it was with the failure to procure extra stocks of ventilators and personal protective equipment.
, but yeah, going forward...).
