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Johnson’s disregard for rules helped him get elected – but it’s starting to wear thin | Rafael Behr

Aug. 4, 2021, 2 a.m.

(The Guardian) From travel to vaccine passports, Covid policy is a mess because the prime minister struggles with the concept of protocolAre we nearly there yet? It is the backseat question that haunts long journeys, except in Britain’s pandemic road trip the impatient whine comes from the driver. Boris Johnson was itching for a release from the moment the ordeal began. He was absent from early meetings of the government’s emergency response committee, unpersuaded that Covid-19 counted as an emergency. Only when presented with dire consequences did he engage with the need for a lockdown, writhing into submission like a toddler being strapped into a car seat.Now the prime minister feels the journey must be nearly over, but finds it hard to judge this without a definite destination. The virus will not surrender and give him the satisfaction of declaring a victory day. Impatience for life after Covid does not resolve the problem of how fast to go. Infection rates are promisingly low, but simulating pre-pandemic normality too …

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