Most of us occasionally change our minds. What is much more difficult, generally impossible, is to change our character. Political leaders are no different. They can reverse their policies, change staff and dismiss advisers, but character flaws always get them in the end.
Former US President Bill Clinton was intellectually brilliant and charming, but as the Lewinsky affair proved, his character flaws were ingrained.
Donald Trump’s presidency was the same story, with different flaws. In 2016, some found his characteristic flakiness refreshing, but it became his political epitaph when he encouraged supporters to storm the US Capitol in 2021.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, like Donald Trump, appeared to some people refreshingly different. To others he was always shambolic, scruffy in his dress, careless in his public as well as private life and unable to govern by bluster alone. And his character is precisely why this current political crisis in the UK always seemed inevitable. Even if the details are complex, make no mistake: this is indeed a crisis for the Johnson government, despite the fact that Britain's successful vaccination programme has contributed to an enormous reduction in coronavirus cases and deaths.
Mr Johnson's problem is not coronavirus. It's "cronyvirus" – a series of interconnected scandals involving friends and cronies which opposition politicians call "Tory sleaze". Lucrative government contracts and access to top ministers, including the prime minister himself, have gone to Conservative party donors or friends of the government, especially those so-called "cronies" who supported Brexit.
The former Conservative prime minister David Cameron and some senior former officials are embroiled in a separate apparent scandal involving their work on behalf of a finance company with strong government connections.
The finance company has gone bust.
Then there's the British businessman James Dyson, who relocated to Singapore, and was able to contact Boris Johnson personally by text, apparently asking questions about tax. The details of all these matters are at times eye-wateringly complex, and Mr Johnson rebutted some of the charges in his characteristically archaic language, insisting that there is nothing "dodgy or rum or weird or sleazy" going on. Others – including normally supportive commentators and British newspapers – disagree.
The complexity of these stories helps Mr Johnson, but any student of political scandals will tell you that often it is not the big things which trip a leader, but the small ones.
Dominic Cummings appears set on revenge
For example, few of us know how much a jet fighter or aircraft carrier should cost, but we have a rough idea of the cost of a toilet seat. In the 1980s in the US during Ronald Reagan’s defence build-up there were numerous stories about the Pentagon wasting billions of dollars on high-tech projects, but what eventually cut through with the American public was the revelation that the Pentagon paid $640 for a lavatory seat and $7,600 for a coffee pot.
A cartoon of the time showed Reagan Secretary of Defence Caspar Weinberger wearing a $640 toilet seat around his neck. The scandal of waste of public funds was obvious.
And so now in Britain we have three stories which everyone can understand. First, Boris Johnson spent £2.6 million on a press room for White House style briefings. You could buy a luxurious house for that, instead of a room like a big cupboard with a couple of flags and a podium.
Some guesses say refurbishment should have cost closer to £20,000 than £2.6 million, and the White House style briefings have been cancelled.
Then, after leaks that Mr Johnson is short of cash and cannot manage on his prime minister’s salary, he and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds refurbished their Downing Street flat allegedly expecting to use political donations to the Conservative party.
And third, a former key adviser, Dominic Cummings, has publicly accused Mr Johnson of behaving in ways which are unethical, foolish and possibly illegal.
Mr Cummings is credited with winning the Brexit vote in 2016 by working brilliantly behind the scenes while Boris Johnson was his frontman and mouthpiece of the campaign. Mr Johnson then took Mr Cummings into a government post, but it was a disaster.
During the coronavirus lockdown, Mr Cummings, while experiencing symptoms of the virus, drove the length of England and claimed – incredibly – some of his driving was to check that his eyesight was fully functional, despite Covid-19.
Mr Johnson stuck with Mr Cummings then, although he did eventually fire him.
Now, amid further briefings and counter-briefings, Mr Cummings appears set on revenge. He knows where the secrets are buried. He had top level access and has retained copies of texts and other sensitive messages. He knows of those times when, to put it politely, Boris Johnson may not have lived up to the highest standards expected of a prime minister.
Mr Cummings says he will be happy to answer any and all questions at a public grilling by members of parliament. Political journalists therefore await a dramatic piece of political theatre that may confirm aspects of the prime minister’s character. And, yes, it is character, always character, which gets them in the end.
Gavin Esler is a broadcaster and UK columnist for The National
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Read more about the coronavirus
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGuillermo%20del%20Toro%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tim%20Blake%20Nelson%2C%20Sebastian%20Roche%2C%20Elpidia%20Carrillo%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
FIRST TEST SCORES
England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)
England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0
Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
PRISCILLA
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brief scores:
Manchester United 4
Young 13', Mata 28', Lukaku 42', Rashford 82'
Fulham 1
Kamara 67' (pen),
Red card: Anguissa (68')
Man of the match: Juan Mata (Man Utd)
Dubai World Cup prize money
Group 1 (Purebred Arabian) 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic - $750,000
Group 2 1,600m(Dirt) Godolphin Mile - $750,000
Group 2 3,200m (Turf) Dubai Gold Cup – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Turf) Al Quoz Sprint – $1,000,000
Group 2 1,900m(Dirt) UAE Derby – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Dirt) Dubai Golden Shaheen – $1,500,000
Group 1 1,800m (Turf) Dubai Turf – $4,000,000
Group 1 2,410m (Turf) Dubai Sheema Classic – $5,000,000
Group 1 2,000m (Dirt) Dubai World Cup– $12,000,000
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
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