When a politician is elected to high office, there is always the same kind of formula. They promise to heal divisions.
Abraham Lincoln talked of “binding up the nation’s wounds". He was assassinated shortly afterwards. George W Bush, another former US president, told anyone who would listen, that “I’m a uniter not a divider". He divided America and the world over America's invasion of Iraq in 2003. In 1979, then British prime minister Margaret Thatcher quoted Saint Francis of Assisi: “Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.” Her tough stance against striking miners and Irish Republican Army hunger strikers meant she became a hate figure for some.
Now Boris Johnson has finally – finally – bowed to pressure to resign as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative party as a result of his many lies and ethical failings. There are plenty of rival candidates to succeed him. They are a disparate bunch, but we can predict that the winner will claim to be a unifying force in a divided country. That’s because division is Mr Johnson’s only real legacy.
The UK is very divided over Brexit. More than half of us believe it’s a huge mistake. Mr Johnson says he “got Brexit done". It’s unfinished. He claims he triumphed over coronavirus with a vaccination programme that was “world leading", when 181,000 British people died with the disease, and there were illegal parties in Downing Street.
In 2022, the UK is more dis-United than at any point in living memory. Ulster unionist politicians complain – rightly – that Mr Johnson never really cared about Northern Ireland.
The worst part of the Johnson legacy is the destruction of trust in British public life
In Brussels, relations with the EU are poor. In Washington, US President Joe Biden did not express regret at his resignation. He merely offered good wishes for Britain.
At home, the National Health Service has record waiting lists for treatments. Doctors, nurses and other key workers, say their living standards have seriously deteriorated. Some speak of strike action. The post-Brexit British economy is performing poorly. The pound has lost value against the euro and dollar. Trade is disrupted by the Brexit bureaucracy.
But perhaps the worst part of the dismal Johnson legacy, which his successor will have to deal with, is the destruction of trust in British public life. Mr Johnson has been forced out of office because he lied repeatedly and shamelessly, devaluing democracy itself.
Schoolchildren are taught that the British system guarantees stable governments. It used to. Yet, since the Brexit vote in 2016, the people of the UK have witnessed the Conservative party psychodrama destroy three Conservative prime ministers – David Cameron, Theresa May, and Mr Johnson himself. All three were undermined by the actions of the same person – yes, by Mr Johnson. He did for himself in the end.
This Johnson-inspired chaotic self-harm means his successor inherits a UK in which the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, is demanding another referendum on independence next year. Sinn Fein, the political party once associated with Irish terrorism, is now the largest party in Northern Ireland. The former Conservative chancellor George Osborne predicted last year that Mr Johnson could go into history as the worst British prime minister ever, worse even than Frederick North, who lost the American colonies in the War of Independence that began in 1776.
Mr Johnson’s successor will therefore repeat the “uniter not a divider” formula, but the healing will be difficult and perhaps impossible. Brexit will never be “done” while its terms are being re-negotiated. Many in Scotland will not give up on independence whatever happens next. The Conservative party’s new leader must decide either to embrace Mr Johnson’s supposed “achievements” or – more likely, I think – run away from his divisive legacy.
That great American statesman Benjamin Franklin once noted that “it takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it". It takes many good prime ministers to build a good reputation for a country, and only one to lose it. Losing Britain’s trusted reputation is indeed Mr Johnson’s legacy.
That reputation as a good friend and ally needs to be rebuilt, if not by the next Conservative prime minister then perhaps by the Labour party leader Keir Starmer who can taste power. The next British prime minister will have to work fast or risk becoming the person whose own legacy will be not just national decline but the end of the UK as currently constructed, if – when? – Scotland does leave.
The future of all 68 million British citizens, however, is not really in our own hands. To become leader of the Conservative party, a candidate simply has to win over half of a tiny electorate of Conservative party members. Mr Johnson became prime minister in 2019 based on the votes of just 92,000 Conservatives. Party members tend to be older than the British average, mostly male and white.
This small, unrepresentative group has our future in their hands. They saddled us with three failed prime ministers, including Mr Johnson – that’s one every two years, since 2016. It’s a dismal record, and so a fourth failed leader is definitely a possibility.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Napoleon
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Company profile
Name: GiftBag.ae
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2011
Number of employees: 4
Sector: E-commerce
Funding: Self-funded to date
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The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
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Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Aahid Al Khalediah II, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Whistle, Harry Bentley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup - Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Alsaied, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Mumayaza, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
8pm: President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Medahim, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Company%20profile
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
South Africa squad
: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wkt), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
