Confossus in tergo (Ltn)

"do to others what you would have them do to you" (Matthew 7:12 12)

Otherwise known as "The Golden Rule".

Just in case any of you have been in the political and media equivalent of a Faraday cage since July 2022, here in the UK we now have a new Prime Minister. No, not the one who replaced Boris Johnson in September (Liz Truss) but another one (Rishi Sunak) who replaced her on 24th October 2022.

My goodness, King Charles III must know the resignation and swearing in ceremonies better than an actor knows the lines of Hamlet and he has only been on the throne less than two months.

The following comment appeared on social media soon after Rishi Sunak's appointment was confirmed.

"Oh great. Sunak. Backstabbing disloyal little sneak. Watch your backs everyone. I know there's not a trustworthy fecker amongst them but he's nailed his colours well and truly to the mast. Hate it when the bad guy wins."

Let's just analyse that statement. Yes, I suspect whoever wrote it has made their ill feelings very clear about the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. His previous role in Government was not in Liz Truss's Cabinet but in her predecessor's, Boris Johnson's, Cabinet as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He resigned from that post and the following day Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister. Yes, I can see the connection between Rishi Sunak's resignation, that of Boris Johnson however tenuous it is and the ease with which the former could be blamed for the latter's demise. However, it was as a result of a series of discrediting events that marked the start of Johnson's downfall. Thus, reinforcing the adage that all political careers are doomed to failure in the end.

One of his final comments from the podium in Downing Street was:

"Thems the breaks"

Presumably the "good guy" to Rishi Sunak's "bad guy" must be Boris Johnson. If so, then it might be worthwhile to look at how Boris Johnson got the keys to the only nightclub operating in SW1 during the COVID lock down, that is 10 Downing Street.

Boris Johnson's path through Parliament to Downing Street is tainted with at least one very public, very treacherous and extremely Machiavellian back stabbing.

In 2018 when he was serving as Foreign Secretary in Theresa May's Cabinet. There was a meeting of the entire Cabinet at Chequers one weekend to hammer out a strategy on how to get BREXIT done. It was announced on 6th July by the then Prime Minister that the entire Cabinet had agreed a collective position. That entire Cabinet included Boris Johnson. Yet, on 9th July he announced his resignation as he disagreed with what had been agreed only a few days previously at Chequers. Just like Rishi Sunak's resignation in July 2022, Boris Johnson's resignation led to the resignation of a Prime Minister and a leadership contest that he eventually won.

Wasn't that also an example of backstabbing perpetrated by the very person some are currently trying to portray as an innocent victim?

That is the thing with politics. What an observer of such shenanigans will think of them is entirely dependent on if they are supporters of the stabber or the stabber's victim; the stabber and the stabbee. If they are supporters then they will slap their chosen one on the back and tell them how clever they are. They will tell their friends as well. Those who support the stabbed and not the stabber will cry "foul play", "dirty tricks", "sneaky" and "disloyal". For those who have read politics either they will say the stabber has been "Machiavellian" or "realists" who will do anything to pursue and maintain their control of power.

To paraphrase the "The Golden Rule" from the Bible and adapt it to "The Golden Rule" of politics it should read:

"do to others what you would have them do to you but just be sure you have done it first"

Grateful thanks to the person who posted the original comment on social media. It got me thinking about politics and how dirty an activity it is. It is gladiatorial coliseum in which the main sport, bloodless of course, is character assassination.

Still, as Boris Johnson himself said "them's the breaks folks".