96,000+ confirmed Coronavirus deaths in the US and nearly 37,000 in the UK. At the time of writing, these are the figures that dominate the crisis we’ve been facing since the start of the year. The two other countries that sandwich the US and UK in the confirmed cases list at this time are Russia and Brazil. What do these countries all have in common? It would be easy and somewhat incorrect (look at Asian regions) to say that they are large populated countries with densely packed cities and regions that make limiting the spread of a virus difficult to contain. The other more striking similarity is that they’re being led by some of the worst men in the world.
Russia – Vladimir Putin
Russia has had Vladimir Putin calling the shots (both literally and figuratively) since 1999, in some form or another, and would definitely be in with a shout of being recognised for having the biggest influence over creating the current world we’re inhabiting – Osama Bin Laden and Mark Zuckerberg make up the top 3 of a shameful list!
“21 years in charge. He must be very popular”, I hear you say. And you would be right. Putin has remained popular in Russia and frequently vaunts his popularity. Being photographed riding topless on a horse would usually kill any politicians career in the west, but it’s somehow seen as away of showing how tough you are in Russia. So, hes incredibly popular. However, it’s worth remembering that this popularity has originated from a background of intimidation and fear. Putin has built his support on the back of voter suppression, jailing his political opponents, and the often unexplained death of journalists and political figures who just so happen to oppose the Russian President.
It’s not that surprising then that Covid-19 would take hold in a country that is run by a suppressing bully that appears to not care for the safety of his citizens if it gets in the way of his political aspirations. I’m not sure what animal Vladimir will need to be photographed sitting on topless to combat this issue, but I bet he’s definitely thinking about it deep in his nuclear bunker under the Kremlin.
Brazil – Jair Bolsonaro
What can you say about Jair Bolsonaro? Well, the first story that appears when you Google him today is that a judge has ordered the release of a video of an expletive-filled rant by the Brazilian President complaining that he couldn’t get information from the police whilst reportedly attempting to influence a criminal investigation into his son.
Bolsonaro’s problems have stemmed from the resignation of the Justice Minister, Sergio Moro, who became frustrated by attempts to influence his area of jurisdiction. Brazil have similarly gone through two Health ministers in the last 5 months after they disagreed with the president’s handling of the Covid-19 situation. Bolsonaro has been dismissive of the health crisis and frequently told people to ignore the social distancing measure put in place by state governors across Brazil.
Bolsonaro is a divisive figure. He’s an ex-military officer who became President of Brazil in January 2019, but was accused of running a homophobic and far right campaign that swept into power with a promise to eradicate political corruption. He was stabbed whilst campaigning for the presidency, and given his own brushes with political corruption in the recent history it’s hard not to think that his attacker may have been onto something.
It’s no surprise that this ‘mini-Trump’ is seeing a similar rise in the cases of Covid-19 to that in the US. Bolsonaro has so many similarities to Donald Trump that it stands to reason that Brazil would follow the example set by it’s neighbour in the north.
US – Donald Trump
Where to start with Donald Trump? Well, The Bugle podcast did a recent episode where the host Andy Zaltzman asked ‘Which of the following things did the President of the United States NOT do this past week? A) Accuse a TV news presenter of being a murderer. B) Have a Supreme Court hearing over his tax returns which also touched on allegations that he paid hush-money to a porn star. C) He was accused of violating the US legal system by facilitating the release of a man who pleaded guilty to misleading the FBI on his behalf. D) He tweeted support of protesters who were harassing a journalist. E) He boasted about having a “super-duper” new missile. F) He told a press conference that Joe Biden shot JFK whilst working for the Cuban Mafia and then had a torrid affair with Muppet star Fozzy Bear in the 1970s.
I shouldn’t have to stress that the last option is the false answer…but give Donald Trump a chance and I’m sure it’ll be true by this time next week.
You can also add since the recording of this episode of The Bugle that Trump has told us that he has been taking a drug that his own FDA says is not safe for you and has been shown to increase your chances of death amongst Covid patients. My default position with Donald Trump has been that he lies about everything, and he is probably lying about taking this hydroxychloroquine drug.
If you extend to before the past week you can will also remember that Donald Trump has posited that the injection of bleach could also help cure the virus. BLEACH!
What we have in Trump is a congenital narcissistic, racist, sexist con-artist who will literally say and do anything to stay President in order to maximise his opportunities to make as much money as he possibly can. That he’s continuing to do this in the middle of a pandemic where nearly 100,000 people have died is shocking. Trump was already a contender for the worst US president in history before Covid 19 hit and his actions, or lack of actions, should be the nail that confirms his loss in the US election in November. That he’s even still in with a chance of winning is a stain on America’s already decaying premise of being the greatest democracy in the world.
UK – Boris Johnson
And so, we move to the UK and the strategically-shaved albino gorilla we have as Prime Minister, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. Boris to his friends and, depressingly, the media too. C**t to the rest of us!
Boris is the newcomer on the block in terms of leader of a country, but the UK has got to know this car-crash of a human-being from long before that. He’s been Mayor of London, Foreign Secretary, Eton and Oxford educated, Bullingdon Club member, a “journalist”, and a serial-shagger. Through all of these…well, lets say…endeavours Boris has left a trail of destruction a mile wide and yet he somehow has been given the opportunity to have a go at the big job, because why not? When your Wikipedia entry contains the following headings – ‘Allegations of racism and islamophobia’ and ‘Alleged misconduct in public office’ – it makes sense in this day and age to have that man in charge when faced with a global crisis.
So, here we are. The UK finds itself in second place in the confirmed deaths table applicable to Covid-19, with a belief that this figure should actually be considerably higher. Accusations that the UK were slow to lock-down and stop mass gatherings are legitimate, and the initial pursuit of a ‘herd immunity’ strategy would appear to be catastrophic. A recent study by researchers at Columbia University believe that shutting down a week earlier in the US would have saved 36,000 lives, and a similar delay here by Boris has undoubtedly made the problem considerably worse.
Charlie Brooker on his hilarious Antiviral Wipe show gave a fantastic summary of how Boris continued to Boris well into March, noting that he continued to shake hands with people despite having prior warnings about this issue. His half-arsed approach to things meant that he felt that he didn’t need to attend COBRA meetings on the health crisis, and unsurprisingly this resulted the Prime Minister of the UK contracting and nearly dying of Covid-19.
The UK have stumbled through this crisis. Airport checks on passengers entering the UK have only started to be required now in May. Care Homes have reported terrible death numbers and shortages of PPE. Testing remains patchy and disorganised through the UK and there is very few expectations that a test and trace system promised by the Prime Minister for 1st June will actually materialise. Hospitals and the NHS have been routinely cut and underfunded by the Conservatives and have now had to endure pathetic levels of management of PPE for its staff. Health staff are overworked, underprotected, underpaid and doctors/nurses are dying trying to save us. But hey…at least these people have the footage of politicians clapping for them one day a week!
What we have been left with is a daily briefing featuring some of the most unconvincing politicians of a generation. Total bluffers, chancers and generally some of the most horrible people you can imagine have been trotted out daily to try and convince us that they know what they’re doing. Boris Johnson’s, and generally politics of this era, have removed anyone with any gravitas or actual leadership and what we’re left with are sentient buzz-words come to life in human-shaped husks offering beige advice. Or a bunch or Apprentice candidates…they’re essentially the same thing.
Just like Dallas and Bobby Ewing, I do wish we could all wake up in the shower and find out that all these deaths were a dream, but it’s true we are being led by these absolute muppets.
Are they really the worst men in the world?
If you’re going to rank them alongside murderers, rapists, and child-molesters then of course these men aren’t the worst in the world. However, it’s quite telling that this would be the only metric that could definitely ensure these men could not be ranked as the worst in the world.
We’ve witnessed and lived through bad politicians and leaders before, but they have always faced accountability and you recognise that they have some element of humanity within them. These men are more than just bad politicians, they are awful human beings and unfortunately they are in charge of countries at the worst time for a lot of people.
Throughout this crisis we’ve heard people comment that the nature of the Covid-19 virus would have stumped even the best of leaders. That we should rally behind our leaders and not be so negative, and only look at the failures after we have come through this ‘war’ with Coronavirus.
The trouble with this approach is that these men rely upon this blasé approach to everything and it’s endorsement is particular dangerous because it encourages others to follow their behaviour. In the UK, the Prime Minister’s political strategist, Dominic Cummings, is facing a backlash after it emerged that he broke the governments lock-down rules to drive to a part of the country when he and his wife were both infected with Covid-19. That he will face no consequences for these actions, and has actually been supported Downing Street, should concern us all especially in the light of an expected 2nd wave of the virus.
The Prime Minister of the UK and President of the USA appear to be in such a rush to reopen their economy that they appear to have jettisoned the advise of their scientists and health professionals, appearing to endorse and trust the responses of people on the streets who are angry that their liberties are being curtailed in the effort to save lives. The US in particular has witnessed armed protesters storming state government property demanding that the lock down be lifted. Republican-run States that have lifted lock-down restrictions early are now encountering re-emergence or emergence of fresh outbreaks of the virus. The UK partially lifted restrictions this week and a similar large crowd of people turned up at the beach on the hottest day of the year.
These men rely upon this anger and frustration to survive in their political landscape, and they’ve been willing to throw a wave of people at the virus to appeal to the small, vocal minority of their country. Those of us in the majority have accepted these limitations with good humour and an understanding that it was for the greater good. The men who lead us want to remain in power, enjoy the trappings of their position, and don’t care who dies in the process.