Give Boris Johnson a break; he doesn’t deserve this abuse – Bill Carmichael

I normally feel a duty to keep up with current affairs and public opinion, but to be frank I simply wasn’t in the mood for the inevitable tidal wave of vile abuse that was certain to poured on the Prime Minister, his entirely innocent girlfriend and their new-born baby too.

And as I breathed in the scent of the wild garlic and contemplated the blur of the unfurling bluebells on the forest floor, I kept coming back to the same thought. Can’t we give the guy – and his new family – a break?

Look, I understand that many people dislike Johnson, and it would probably be unhealthy politically if that wasn’t the case. Although it is worth noting that, judging by the opinion polls, the general public have a far more favourable opinion of the Prime Minister than the ‘lefty’ bubble of Twitter and Facebook would suggest.

And there is no doubt he is a posh Old Etonian – although there is precious little he could have done about that – and has a giant ego and raging ambition, vices that are not entirely unusual amongst politicians.

His sexual history and personal morals are far from spotless and, rather amusingly I think, have the new puritans of the British left clutching their bosoms in horror like scandalised Victorian spinster aunts.

And I have absolutely no problem in holding Johnson to account for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, although it must be said that the 
“gotcha journalists” of the national 
press and broadcasters haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory in recent weeks.

But despite all of this I ask again – can’t the man catch a break? He might be all of those things but, above all, he is also a human being, and by any measure what he has been through in recent months would test the stamina of the strongest character.

When he became Prime Minister last summer the Remainer establishment had blocked all Theresa May’s valiant attempts at a compromise solution with the EU, and had reduced the UK government and parliament to a state of total paralysis.

Although Boris injected a palpable pulse of new energy into a tired government, he simply didn’t have the necessary numbers in the House of Commons to get a deal over the line and so was unable to break the gridlock.

What eventually followed was a grindingly tough general election campaign, unusually held in the middle of winter. Anyone who has spent time on the campaign trail alongside politicians can testify just how physically and mentally demanding they can be for all concerned, but especially so for party leaders.

No sooner had Johnson got his feet inside Number 10, after leading the Conservatives to an emphatic victory, than the country was plunged into the Covid-19 crisis – a pandemic that very nearly took the life of the Prime Minister, leaving him knocking on death’s door in an intensive care unit bed.

Yet just three weeks later he returned to work, and now in the same week his girlfriend gives birth to her first baby. Phew! That is what you call an eventful few weeks!

Now he has to put up with the squawking criticism of all the new found virology experts – half of whom claim 
he imposed the lockdown far too early, and the other half that he did it far too late.

And that’s without even mentioning the bonkers conspiracy theorists who reckon his illness was all a public relations stunt and the timing of his son’s birth this week was “suspicious”.

Frankly I wouldn’t blame him if he 
took his girlfriend and baby and went straight went back to that villa on Mustique.

And perhaps that’s exactly what he should do. Am I alone in thinking he has gone back to work too soon? In his speech in Downing Street this week, I felt he looked tired and breathless, despite a typically bravura performance.

Wouldn’t a few weeks of paternity leave do him the world of good? Apparently he has ruled that out, saying he will take some leave later in the year. More fool him!

Congratulations, Boris – but for heaven’s sake take care of yourself.

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