The prime minister’s obvious dislike of prescriptive social regulations dilutes his authority when asking people to comply
There is a fine line between optimism and complacency that Boris Johnson has often crossed during the coronavirus pandemic. In July, when lifting the first national lockdown, the prime minister held out the prospect of “a significant return to normality” in time for Christmas. He restated that ambition in November, when setting out the terms of a second lockdown. “I have no doubt that people will be able to have as normal a Christmas as possible,” he said.
What marks that forecast as typically Johnsonian is the gratuitous certainty. The prime minister believes that asserting something with confidence makes it more likely to become true. That method can be effective as campaign rhetoric, but in government it risks making an enemy of reality.
