Those who say Boris Johnson’s political career is over are wrong, his resignation letter was a manifesto for his return
STITCHED-UP by his enemies, Boris Johnson dashed for the hills rather than allow his critics to enjoy the spectacle of a wounded beast pleading for his political life.
Inevitably his foes are gloating that BoJo’s career in Westminster is over.
As ever in Boris’ unique life, their jubilant funeral orations are premature.
Friday’s unexpected resignation, Boris calculated, was a brilliant coup to pre-empt his humiliation, parade his anger and plot his revenge.
Going out with a bang, he is gambling, will pave the way for his unchallenged resurrection and return to Downing Street.
With some justification, Boris has rightly called the parliamentary committee’s report a “hitjob”.
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Chaired by Harriet Harman, the Labour MP had, even before the committee’s investigations started, damned Boris outright.
Her bias was trumped by the committee changing its rules to make it easier to convict him.
Finally, the MPs relied on the damning Partygate report drafted by civil servant Sue Gray, the hugely ambitious Labour supporter who will soon become Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.
Boris’ resignation has given Gray the ultimate bonus — turmoil in the Tory party to help Starmer walk next year into Downing Street.
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Not surprisingly, Boris damned Gray for contributing to the “witch-hunt” and slammed Harman for presiding over a “kangaroo court”.
Undoubtedly, Boris’ splenetic resignation letter has given Gray, Harman and other Boris-haters pleasure.
The downfall of a man they loathe — and fear — is a rich reward for their spite.
Boris’ denial to the Commons that there were parties in Downing Street during lockdown was untrue.
Based on photographs, emails and confessions by civil servants, there’s no doubt that Downing Street’s employees broke the Government’s strict lockdown laws.
Boris did deny knowing about the drinking orgies.
No-one could prove that at the time he was aware of the law-breaking.
His fatal error, months later, was to tell the Commons no parties occurred.
Before he spoke he failed to search for the truth.
Checking for details and facts has always been alien to him.
Sadly for Boris, his big vision blinded him to learning the lesson that an essential ingredient of good government — and survival against your enemies — is discovering irritating truths.
Rightly, Boris claims in his resignation letter that he delivered a historic election victory in 2019.
Only he could have saved Britain from Marxist Jeremy Corbyn and delivered Brexit.
But what followed his glorious success — the remorseless slide towards his downfall — was entirely his own fault.
His demise became inevitable within the first week that he entered Downing Street.
Foolishly, he failed to prepare himself for operating across Whitehall.
Lazily, he did not speak to ex-PMs and senior civil servants to understand how to make the civil service obey his orders.
Swiftly, the creeping chaos within his private office destroyed his credibility.
Combatting Covid would have challenged every politician.
Boris was not helped by incompetent civil servants and a ragbag of flawed scientists who at best were misguided and at worst politically subversive.
While he rightly opposed the second lockdown — whose cost to the nation’s education, health and finances remains incalculable — he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of biased officials and politicians, especially Labour MPs.
Fatefully during that year, Boris did not extricate himself from the daily grind to plan his government’s post-Covid future.
Exhausted by bitter arguments among his staff, the nappy-changing demands of a new baby and, most of all, by his slow recovery from his near-death from Covid, he squandered his political opportunities.
At best, his swift departure protects his dignity.
Those spouting he will throw grenades from the sidelines are wrong.
On the eve of a general election, Boris knows that Tory MPs will hesitate before attacking Rishi Sunak.
Moreover, Boris is conscious that since his resignation as PM was sparked by 62 ministers quitting his government, he lacks parliamentary support for an offensive against Sunak.
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Those predicting Boris’s political death fail to grasp that Boris planned for some time to make the best of his regicidal execution.
His resignation letter was a manifesto for his return.