Stay Alert? Boris Johnson’s Reopening Strategy Confuses Britain
The politics of division doesn't work in the age of the pandemic. But there are few popularity points in straight talking either.
Trying to flatten the curve.
Source: No. 10 Downing Street via Getty Images
Boris Johnson’s much-anticipated address to the U.K. on Sunday night left many feeling unsatisfied, and others infuriated. For a political team that has often used pithy slogans to devastating effect, the new one unveiled to guide Britain out of lockdown — Stay Alert — feels like an epic fail. How does one stay alert and to what, people wondered.
Part of the problem was presentational. Johnson’s 13-minute speech was short on details, leaving everyone to wait until a 50-plus page document was released on Monday afternoon. There is often no good way to deliver bad news, but the lag gave people time to jump to hasty conclusions about whether Johnson’s approach is the right one.