ABSURD though it may be, never underestimate the power of the British - or more specifically English - class system.
Mired in sleaze and scandal, Boris Johnson nows finds himself navigating a minefield of class politics. Quite fitting for an old Etonian. While preferential treatment for ministers’ buddies over Covid contracts and comments about bodies piling up during pandemic should be enough to end the career of any Prime Minister - even in the careless, negligent corridors of Westminster - it’s ‘Flatgate’ which is really dealing damage to Johnson.
Enquiries into allegations that Johnson received a £58,000 loan from a Tory donor to redecorate his Downing Street flat could - should? - finish Johnson off. But Johnson is like one of those life forms that clings onto the side of underwater volcanic vents - he can survive just about anything. So don’t bet your life savings on Flatgate as Johnson’s finale. We’ve seen many worse scandals in perennially rotten Westminster come and go.
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