Well, now we know officially who Boris Johnson is. A ruthless narcissist who owes no loyalty to anyone but himself. A man who bears grudges and gives pay back. It’s like the old politbureau days in the Kremlin. Hunt has been airbrushed out of all official photographs. It is as if he no longer exists. This will go down badly on the back benches. There are those in the party who will now begin to wonder if they have spawned a monster. Actually, at this stage they don’t really care too much, providing the monster is their monster and a winner.
They thought that they were electing an entertainer and have have been presented with the clown from IT.
I wonder how the One Nation Tories feel? All those honeyed words. All those false promises. All lies. A total betrayal. It probably hasn’t sunk in yet. I suspect that they still cling to the false hope that Johnson is still at heart a moderate, social liberal. No doubt Matt Hancock and Amber Rudd have convinced themselves that by abandoning any semblance of honour they will somehow be a moderating influence on him. Delusional. They are out gunned and out manoeuvred. They are no more than expendable window dressing. Everyone has a price, but Work and Pensions? You’ve been done love.
The only winner in the reshuffle is the Chancellor. The Saj has played a good game. He’s a bright guy. And he is competent. Johnson may not be able to afford to lose him. He might be the only one in Cabinet who could act as a moderate sounding board. But look at the top table. Priti Patel at the Home Office, Raab as Foreign Secretary, Mogg as Lord President. You don’t have to concern yourself too much about the Apocalypse as the Four Horsemen are in Cabinet. And boy are they ready to ride out.
With the exception of The Saj, Robert Buckland, Nicky Morgan, Michael Gove, and Ben Wallace we have the most under talented top table in living memory. Gove is only there to show that the dark lord is a man of compassion. He isn’t. Gove will not be there for long.
Lack of talent is always a problem. Where this cabinet is dangerous is not because it is the most authoritarian right wing bunch of cronies in living memory, but because there are no greybeards to offer seasoned advice.
The world is at its most dangerous for many years. We could be at war with Iran by accident rather than design. And Raab? Dear God. I won’t say a word about ‘career Psychopath’ Dominic Cummings. His actions will speak for louder than I can.
This government is not a catastrophe waiting to happen. It has begun