ARROGANCE: 2 scandals, 2 VIPs, 2 continents – one common thread!
British PM, tennis champ flout COVID rules, then prevaricate when caught
Two fiascos on opposite ends of the earth have engulfed VIPs who ignored pandemic rules in scandals that have captured the world's attention.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to apologize to his country in Parliament for holding a party during lockdown in 2020.
In Australia, tennis star Novak Djokovic was deported after arriving in the country unvaccinated – against its strict immigration rules.
It’s enough to make cynics everywhere weep. Clearly, both men thought they could get away with breaking rules made for everyone. Adding insult to injury, both were caught telling untruths about it after their misbehavior was exposed.
It is reminiscent of the statement attributed to convicted tax evader Leona Helmsley in 1989, who famously said: “Only the little people pay taxes.”
The arrogance of the men involved in both cases will encourage more people everywhere to flout rules meant to protect the health of everyone – if they think they can get away with it.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Johnson was revealed to have authorized and attended a social gathering at his official residence at 10 Downing Street in May 2020 when the country was in strict lockdown.
The British press has now dubbed the entire series of events as the “partygate scandal.”
At first, Johnson prevaricated on numerous occasions both about the event itself and then that it broke strict COVID rules at all.
It was only after two eyewitnesses came forward to say they had personally seen him at the party that his story began to fall apart.
Then, an email emerged sent from one of his official secretaries to about 100 people inviting them to a “BYOB” event on May 20, 2020. About 30 eventually attended.
With the evidence against him mounting, Johnson was forced to appear in Parliament on Jan. 12 where he admitted attending the party during lockdown but carefully crafted his confession to try and minimize the damage.
As widely reported in British media and globally, Johnson did say he attended the event but that it "technically" broke no COVID restrictions.
Acknowledging anger amongst his constituents and the British public in general, Johnson said:
“Mr Speaker, I want to apologize. I know that millions of people across this country have made extraordinary sacrifices over the last 18 months. I know the anguish that they have been through, unable to mourn their relatives, unable to live their lives as they want or to do the things they love.”
If he was so empathetic, the words that he spoke next belied that concern. He described the party as “an extension of the office” and said he believed it was a “work event.”
“With hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside [to work],” he said, arguing that the event “could be said, technically, to fall within the [lockdown] guidance” of the time.
It is no wonder that the following day The Guardian reported Boris Johnson does not believe he broke Covid rules at party
“The Northern Ireland [cabinet] secretary, Brandon Lewis, has insisted the prime minister was “very, very sincere” when he apologized for attending an alcohol-fuelled gathering in the Downing Street garden, but did not believe he had broken the rules.
“Boris Johnson told MPs on Wednesday he thought he was at a “work event” when he dropped into what his own principal private secretary had called “socially distanced drinks.”
What followed was almost predictable.
“Johnson’s apology failed to assuage the concerns of many Conservatives, with the Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, and the senior backbencher William Wragg calling for him to resign,” The Guardian reported.
Even some of Johnson's own cabinet members were slow to defend his explanation.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, tweeted that the prime minister deserved “patience” until an official inquiry on the event is completed.
This inquiry is being conducted by a civil servant and could still take weeks to file its report.
It is no wonder The Guardian was derisive in its interpretation of Johnson’s carefully crafted statement.
“Given the invitation to the gathering made explicit reference to it being a chance for a socially distanced drink, and that the more than 100 people who were asked to attend were told to “bring your own booze,” it is hard to reconcile Johnson’s benign description with what was actually happening in his private garden,” it reported.
On Jan. 15, the leader of the opposition Labor Party Keir Starmer increased the pressure on the prime minister, saying that it is in the “national interest” that he resign.
“We are witnessing the broken spectacle of a prime minister mired in deceit and deception, unable to lead,” Starmer said, calling on the Conservative Party to do “what it needs to do and get rid of him.”
This, of course, would be a motion of no confidence brought to the House of Commons.
Whether or not it comes to that remains to be seen. It would not be the first time, but it may never reach that point.
With the public furor rising by the day, Johnson may find his position untenable and decide to cut his losses.
What is already established is that he broke the rules his own government had imposed on the entire country, then attempted a cover-up but got caught in the lies.
If that does not add up to arrogance, nothing does.
Meanwhile, halfway around the globe in Australia, at about the same time the Johnson scandal was unfolding in the UK, a similar scenario surrounding the top tennis champion in the world began to get attention.
Novack Djokovic (dubbed “NoVax” on Twitter) arrived in Melbourne just before midnight on Jan. 5.
He was in possession of a medical waiver granted to him by tennis officials and state authorities so that he could enter the country without being vaccinated against COVID-19.
However, federal immigration officials at the airport spent hours studying his paperwork and in the early hours of Jan. 6 revoked his entry visa.
Djokovic was taken into custody and transported to a detention facility at the Park Hotel in Melbourne where he joined a couple of dozen other undocumented immigrants.
In a news conference the same day, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, among other things, “the rules are the rules.”
With his plight now making headlines around the planet, Djokovic filed an appeal which was adjudicated on Jan. 10 in his favor.
The judge decided to quash the cancellation of his visa and order his release from detention. However, the judge pointedly noted that Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke still had the right to reverse his ruling and deport Djokovic.
Meanwhile, in a lengthy statement posted on social media on Jan. 12, the tennis star tried to explain how he came to be in this pickle but only succeeded in muddying the waters.
His medical waiver had been granted on the grounds that in mid-December he had tested positive for COVID infection and was thus qualified for a medical exemption to vaccination.
Doubts about the veracity of the sequence of events quickly emerged when his public appearances around the dates of his positive test appeared to show him either breaking the quarantine rules of his home country, Serbia, or Spain (which he visited the day after the positive test) – or both.
Later reporting would question whether the positive PCR test he submitted was even valid. In addition, supposedly the same day as his positive test, he was photographed at two public events (according to images posted on his foundation's official social media site) where none of the participants were masked.
The following day, Dec. 17, Djokovic attended a tennis event in Belgrade to present awards to children, having taken a rapid antigen test beforehand, which he said was negative. Social distancing measures were not being observed and no masks were being worn.
If this is getting too complicated for you, you are not alone. Indeed, perhaps that is what the intent was.
The actual chronology of events is less material than their total implications. What has emerged from the morass is that in certain situations the tennis champion broke pandemic restrictions – perhaps in multiple countries – and then tried to rationalize his behavior, or, if you will, cover it up.
On Jan. 14, the immigration minister canceled his visa for the second time.
All of this led to the Jan. 16 hearing in Australian federal court in Melbourne where a panel of three judges unanimously dismissed Djokovic’s application to overturn the immigration minister’s decision.
It was almost anti-climactic when Chief Justice James Allsop delivered his two-sentence verdict late in the day:
“The application will be dismissed with costs,” Allsop said. “The reasons [are] to be published at a later date.”
A short while afterwards, the world’s top tennis champion left Australia on a flight to Dubai, not even getting to the first round play of the Australian Open on Monday.
In a statement before he left, Djokovic said: “I am extremely disappointed with the Court ruling…”
The decision was welcomed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who faces reelection in a few months.
Arrogance has consequences
While the case against the world’s top tennis player seems settled, the fate of the British prime minister very much hangs in the balance. It was widely reported over the weekend that pressure upon him is mounting to resign.
If breaking the rules costs Boris Johnson his job, it would also serve a good purpose. He has clearly betrayed the public trust.
There is enough distrust of leaders already, and holding them accountable for their actions is a fundamental tenet of democracy everywhere.
In Johnson's case this is particularly true because he was responsible for imposing the rules in the first place.
Arrogance is no excuse for betraying the public trust or breaking the law. This applies equally to celebrity athletes and politicians – and all others in high profile positions whose actions serve as an example for millions.
Johnson is about to get his "reward" ... Tories are gonna boot him!
Thank you Warren for writing about two "jokers." One is an arrogant and privileged and the other is arrogant and privileged. Unfortunately, the British masses must suffer the mop-headed clueless wonder, and proponent of Brexit, a little longer. We shall see if, like Trump, Boris is ousted. The tennis player has been prevented from playing his games in Australia, and now possibly France. In the age of irrationalism, outright hostility to science, and selfish individualism, it's somewhat reassuring to see these two jokers get their just rewards.