MICHAL DAVIS
Crisis is the defining factor as to why governmental systems all over the world have for long been fuelled by the sacrifice and suffering of others. The period of intense difficulty or danger that a crisis represents can influence, and has greatly affected, our political environment. Our government today in the year 2022 has dodged and ducked its way out of being seriously caught out on innumerable occasions through the convenient appearance of attention-detracting crises.
In truth though, this is the case of every operational government since the dawn of political philosophy and the foundation of the first Democratic state, in the form of classical Athens. Cicero, inspired by the founders of political philosophy such as Plato and Socrates, adopted a method and ideology of intense political scrutiny and major opposition to that of 'transparent tyranny'. He less famously stated that a crisis is the point at which people launch themselves into the perilously deep political sphere of manipulation, and such nefarious activities. This perfectly summarises the message I wish to forward which is that throughout both the last year and the rest of history, the suffering of bodies both foreign and domestic has been exploited to better politicians' positions in the public favour.
I think the greatest representation of this in recent history is the present conflict in Ukraine, and its ramifications in the UK. The Conservative government had found itself in, it's fair to say, a rather gobsmackingly awful position by late December and early January of this year. The 'Partygate' scandal, as it has become known, which was uncovered in late 2021, proved, I believe, to the people of this country that our government betrayed the citizens whom it was sworn to lead and protect. In the face of murky evidence, some continue to argue that the politicians whom the police have placed under severe scrutiny in this particular case are in fact not guilty of what seems to be one of the greatest examples of hypocrisy in recent history. This from my point of view is unjustifiable, though I do defend the accusation that Boris Johnson was ambushed by a cake on his birthday, rather ironically, as I could see such a thing happening to myself or any 'normal person' for that matter. In that instance, I can comprehend Johnson's conduct, however the rest of the parties cannot seem to be defended. I accept though that the handling of the scandal by the media is somewhat unforgiving, which, although it may skew public perception of the situation, has been partially justifiable.
But when Vladimir Putin made the decision to invade Ukraine, things started to change. Every media coverage website and news platform was filled with regular updates on the war and the increasingly slow progress of the campaign: news on 'Partygate' ceased to exist; sympathy from the public and around the world flooded into Ukraine, and Johnson, along with his cabinet and key members of the conservative party, appeared to escape with their reputations almost unscathed, which brings me to my main point.
Crisis, in the form of the Ukraine war, the possibly devastating effects on economies all over the world and the seemingly endless list of sanctions forced upon Russia, saved Boris Johnson. I would even go as far as to say that it helped him to gain popularity internationally as a hero providing a war-torn ally with the necessary weapons in the glorious defence of democracy. It is no coincidence that the UK then gained its best recent performance at the notoriously political Eurovision Song Contest only weeks later.
I am not a conspiracist and so I do not believe that Boris Johnson in some way instigated this conflict to save his reputation, as that would be ridiculous, but, of all things, he has escaped once again and I believe he will continue to manage to evade retribution for his actions ad infinitum. I almost certainly know that you, the reader, are saying to yourself "Wait, was he not fined?" To that I say, he was fined such an insignificant amount monetarily that it has almost no impact on his reputation. I believe that it is almost impossible for it to get much worse for Boris Johnson and his seemingly non-existent reputation. He had already acquired the character of appearing to do just as he wishes and rarely suffering the consequences. A fifty pound fine, which is obviously going to leave him personally financially crippled, is pitiful whilst many people were fined north of ten thousand pounds for gathering during restrictions.
Another example of a foreign crisis acting to the advantage of politicians manifests itself in President Biden's handling of Ukraine, which followed America's semi-aggressive policy of acting in the defence of democracy. This aid has not only provided Ukraine with more weapons but also Biden and his administration with desperately-sought-after increases in approval ratings, which is something that Biden, during the course of his presidency, has appeared to struggle to retain.
A more historical representation of this theme would be in the form of Adolf Hitler's rise to power, which appears extremely relevant to Cicero's thoughts on crisis that he outlined in The Republic, as alluded to above. Hitler catapulted himself from a failed artist to become dictator of Germany in just over ten years due to the crisis that the Weimar Republic found itself in during the beginning of the nineteen twenties. With hyperinflation on the loose, and poverty and unemployment destroying lives, Hitler played on the people's suffering and emerged more powerful and controlling than anyone in modern history.
To conclude, I would like to say that crises should not be treated as harmless events which can be exploited for personal gain. I hope that the future of politics will no longer be dominated by the increasingly egotistical and self-centred figures of today, and instead that the world will turn for the better, with the interests of the people being represented in the way that they ought to.
I don't know how or when, but all we can do is hope.
