Mensagens mistas
Se Dominic Cummings não era tão arrogante, não testou sua visão no castelo de Barnard e não havia promovido Boris Johnson apenas para tentar destruí -lo ... O impacto do que ele disse sobre o manuseio da pandemia pode ter destruído o governo. O público permanece grato por seus golpes e está preparado para conceder aos ministros uma grande folga sobre como eles lidaram com a pandemia em seus estágios iniciais. As pessoas e as empresas querem retornar a uma vida o mais normal possível de maneira clara. Os governos que remontam a Blair devem aceitar a culpa por não ter um plano de emergência para uma pandemia respiratória. A imunidade do rebanho foi a política por um breve período. Os testes foram interrompidos. Havia uma falta de confiança de Whitehall nos conselhos locais e chefes de saúde. O mais sério de tudo foi a decisão de enviar pacientes infectados de hospitais de volta para os lares de cuidados. Não havia certeza de como o público e os negócios reagiriam às instruções de bloqueio, e isso compreensivelmente levou à hesitação. Tendo preparado Johnson no número 10, ele agora espera fazer o mesmo com o chanceler? Concordo que há algo errado com o sistema partidário que nos ofereceu a escolha de Johnson ou Corbyn. Concordo com a observação dele de que os funcionários públicos são muito orientados por processos e avessos ao risco, mas seu touro em uma abordagem da loja da China o impediu de conduzir as reformas necessárias. É improvável que a pandemia seja tratada até depois da próxima eleição geral. A maioria dos políticos e funcionários públicos segue em frente. O trabalho tem razão em pedir que isso seja acelerado. O tempo que levou é uma grande injustiça em si e, em relação ao julgamento em colapso nesta semana, é preciso perguntar por que milhões foram desperdiçados. O objetivo da lei era que os policiais alteraram as declarações foram para o inquérito de Taylor, que não tinha o status de atrair uma obstrução da justiça em um tribunal criminal. Certamente, o Serviço de Promotoria da Coroa conhecia essa falha fatal e, em vez disso, lidera as famílias pobres de Hillsborough em outro beco cego?
However, it is likely that his colourful testimony won’t move the political dial. The public remain grateful for their jabs and are prepared to grant Ministers a great deal of slack over how they handled the pandemic in its early stages.
The greater danger for the government might lie in further repetitions of the communications cock up involving long suffering communities in Bolton and Blackburn. People and business want to return to as normal a life as possible in a clear way.
All that said, Cummings 7-hour testimony cannot be just dismissed as an act of revenge for perceived slights (although that is surely part of the motivation).
He is right in much of his analysis of what happened in February and March last year, although we must always remember the role of Captain Hindsight. Governments going back to Blair must accept blame for not having an emergency plan in place for a respiratory pandemic. Herd immunity was the policy for a brief period. Testing was stopped. There was a lack of trust by Whitehall in local councils and health chiefs. Most serious of all was the decision to send infected patients from hospitals back to care homes.
Above all Johnson was off the case after delivering Brexit on Jan 31 and when he did appear, made light of the growing crisis.
Cummings is wrong in one respect at least though. There was no certainty how the public and business would react to lockdown instructions, and that understandably led to hesitancy.
On the political front, it is interesting that Cummings praises the role of Rishi Sunak. Having groomed Johnson into Number 10, does he now hope to do the same for the Chancellor? I agree that there is something wrong with the party system that offered us the choice of Johnson or Corbyn. I agree with his observation that civil servants are too process driven and risk averse, but his bull in a china shop approach, prevented him from conducting the reforms that are needed.
INQUIRY FARCE
The length of time taken to investigate major scandals and bring cases to court links the two big stories of the week.
The government have cleverly ensured that the findings of the public probe into how the pandemic was handled will be unlikely to report until after the next General Election. Most of the politicians and civil servants will have moved on. Labour is right to call for this to be speeded up.
We also saw this week the likely bitter end of the attempts of the Hillsborough families to get justice. The time it took is a major injustice in itself, and in respect of the collapsed trial this week, one has to ask why millions were wasted. The point of law was that the police officers altered statements were for the Taylor Inquiry which did not have the status to attract an obstruction of justice in a criminal court. Surely the Crown Prosecution Service knew this fatal flaw and instead lead the poor Hillsborough families up another blind alley?
