Politically blind? Or stupid?

The worst illiterate is the political illiterate,

What was he thinking? Was he badly advised? Where were the PR people who could tell him what the optics would look like? Did he ignore them? Think he knew better? Or just thought he could blag his way through it all?

News flash Rishi, a blagger you ain’t.

I am, of course, talking about the huge public relations mis-step that befell the Prime Minister last week, when he ducked out of the D-Day commemoration event in Normandy because he had other things to do, including pre-recording an interview with ITV News that is airing this week sometime.

Sunak was derided in the newspapers, and on social media for departing Normandy early, leaving the Foreign Minister to take his place in all the Heads-Of-State photographs. Especially peculiar as said Foreign Minister is a former UK head of state, one D Cameron, Lord of Chipping Norton. Talk about a time warp (again)

I wrote a few days ago about the commemorations and the landings (link here), and, while I’m not comfortable with this style of trial by social media, I’m also irritated beyond belief by the way that common sense completely deserted the PM. It should have been blindingly obvious, to anyone with an ounce of political and PR savvy, that the leader of the UK Government HAS to be in attendance at the events honouring people who fought and died, fought and survived, alongside their comrades in arms. Even if that all happened forty years before he was born. (It happened before every other leader was born too, apart from President Biden). And that they have to stay for ALL OF IT. Not disappear for a TV interview which could have been rescheduled. It might have been difficult to do so, but the one thing that couldn’t be rescheduled, that was set-in-stone was the D-Day commemorations. It’s kind of the whole point of them.

Sunak might be a politician, but he’s not very good at playing politics. Camilla Long in the Sunday Times today (June 9) said that Sunak puts her in mind of the phrase used to describe Hilary Clinton, that she was ‘all maths and no poetry’, and that is spot on.   It doesn’t matter a hoot that he took to the media to apologise. Too late, mate, the damage is done. To give a small amount of credit where it is deserved, neither of Sunak’s two predecessors would have disappeared early from Normandy. Although, both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss would probably both have dressed up for the photos, in combat gear and rifles. If there’d been a tank they’d have tried to drive it.

I don’t know if Sunak is just useless at the politics, is unable to see when advice is wrong, doesn’t really care anymore, or has given up and is planning a move back to the USA. Maybe that’s why the election was called for early next month, so the Sunak’s can spend the summer house-hunting in New England or wherever. Whichever it is, and even if the electorate throws a curve-ball and the Tories scrape a win, the removal van will surely be going in to Downing Street.