Popular politics is a tricky business for those who occupy the most powerful offices of state. One moment you’re attempting to break international maritime law, when moments before you were mocking players taking a knee. It’s a fine balance to keep your natural supporters onside with bucketfuls of racist, red meat, when you also have to attach yourself to the success of ‘woke’ sportsmen!
The United Kingdom’s Home Secretary, Ms Patel, now finds herself on the popular feeling tripwire as she attempts to navigate her way across a pond full of progressive bullies. Can she safely get to her rabid fans? With her famous smirk I think she can.
The shocking success of England’s footballers has placed her in a tricky predicament. It could all have been avoided if the last Labour government had a more enlightened attitude to immigration. Instead they allowed in infants that would grow under England’s blazing sun to be woefully misdirected sportsmen.
The England team is now so awake one doubts they will ever experience the comforting mental coma beloved of the Home Secretary’s supporters.
And let us not get started on the team’s manager, a man so decent he would not even be employed as the tea boy at Conservative HQ, but here is presuming to lead the nation away from bigotry? It’s essentially treason. It’s not going too far to say that Mr Southgate is undermining the will of the people. He is potentially a danger to Brexit. The government’s culture war is on the back foot today and Mr Southgate and his boys are to blame for that.
So what is Ms Patel to do? Does she stick with her stated position that it’s justified to boo players of mixed ethnicity when they demand equality? Or does she turn in the wind of popular feeling and don an England shirt and cheer them on? Which is exactly the skilled pivot her boss Mr Johnson has completed.
She does the later of course. She follows the PM who follows the people and pretends to lead them when the good times roll. The football will be over in just a few days, whoever wins the final. But a deep seated need to punish those less privileged? That is a lifelong calling. It will be easy enough to pivot back on Monday.
