Can you think of a Prime Minister worse than Johnson?

Well Lucca I also have many contacts worldwide and we are definitely not the laughing stock. We need to stop talking down our own country.

Then you haven’t been looking at foreign media gajahgran

Whitewave I think the problem is the media. We are constantly drip fed negativity through the media it is very damaging and usually political. When you actually talk to people abroad the picture is very different. The constant negativity is very damaging to health especially when people have been in isolation.

What a strange post, Calendargirl

I don't understand why you should question Lucca's son's feelings on the grounds that he is 'living abroad'.

Are you saying that living outside the country of your birth and upbringing means that you must excise all the feelings you had about it?
Or are you implying that by traitorously abandoning his birth country he has forfeited all rights to any feelings about it? It's none of his business?

Or are you just unable to understand that old attachments might persist even though one is not directly involved any more?

I agree Gajahgran . We have quite a few friends in Europe particularly France and the Netherlands, none of whom are laughing at us, if anything they're more horrified at the way our media is constantly trying its best to bring down our elected government and sabotage the trade talks. Our Dutch friends wish that their P.M was as tough as ours with the Commission. Of course he can't be as the Netherlands is so small and powerless and has to do as it's told.

That's strange Jabberwok as my friends in France have long thought Johnson was a buffoon of the worst order.

The names Blair and Brown come to mind

I suspect that these reported differences in foreign perceptions of the UK are very much down to the fact that birds of a feather flock together.

This topic has come up on and off ever since the 24th June 2016. Invariably the Leavers said they had European friends who were cheering us on while Remainers' European friends were shaking their heads in utter disbelief. (The ridicule crept in later)

Westendgirl your French friends obviously believe the media. I think Boris is very far from a buffoon. I have some French friends who are very pro UK.

I am just re-reading Tim Shipman's All Out War about the Brexit campaign. It is even more interesting second time round as a lot of the people, such as Cummings, have become more prominent since it was written.
I found Gove's views on Johnson illuminating.
'Boris is incapable of focusing on serious issues and has no gravitas. The whole Boris routine will wear thin with the electorate very quickly if he became PM. And he can't make tough decisions.'

I think Boris is just a bumbling idiot - appears to make things up as he goes along. "Trump-esq" - ok I made that up but I think rather apt!!

I've just had an email from my New Zealander friend who says "I really feel for you with your government"

Varian what is your friend basing her views on? I have family in NZ and was there myself in February and I did not come across this attitude. I think it must be media again.

There has been a thread wondering if division will ever heal in the U.K.

I am afraid that as long as you vote for the politics and subsequent ideology that Johnson aspires to there will always be division.

That is how populist politics works. The same in USA .

At the moment it is elite v the people.

Or remain v leave.

This type of politics can only function when it identifies an us and them. That focus is always directed away from government actions and criticism of it to wards “others”

Next it will be

Those who kept to the rules of lockdown and those who didn’t.

It is the sort of politics which while creating various situations in which we find ourselves will always find an “other” to blame.
It does so at the moment with a largely compliant media.

I console myself that nothing lasts for ever.

I don’t think my post is strange MaizieD

By living abroad, I assume that means he isn’t just working there for a defined time, more that he is now living outside the UK on a permanent basis.

If that’s the case, I can understand him being interested and concerned about what is happening here, but heartbroken sounds a bit dramatic, as it doesn’t affect him as such.

My own daughter lives in Australia, and takes a keen interest in what is going on here, as it affects us, but it’s what goes on there that is her main concern, what their government is doing, and how her own family are impacted.

If Lucca’s son intends to return here, that is another matter of course.

I'm afraid Gajagran that you know nothing at all about my friends and therefore are not in a position to say what they believe in. This type of response comes up from those who always think they are right and are not willing to accept the other point of view, or indeed that there could be another point of view.

Boris is a fumbling , ill prepared Prime Minster.
After winning he was not seen as he was taking too many holidays.
In the run up to corona virus he only attended 1 Cobra meeting out of 5 held.Where was he?
First Question time in Parliament against Sir Keir, he was totally incompetent and not prepared for it.
He won because of the false promises to exit from Europe. Going by Sunday newspapers, the government has failed to take this matter forward and Europe is not happy. He will no doubt blame the corona virus problem for that.
He was late in giving Lockdown instructions and his government failed to provide PPE for NHS & Care Homes. This resulted in so many deaths
He failed to sack Cummings and would not answer the questions put to him.At 5 different interviews all he said was well I have answered this question before. I did not hear his answer.
Cannot even do his hair, but to his credit has at long last mastered the art of tucking his shirt in his trousers.

If Lucca’s son intends to return here, that is another matter of course.

That's kind of you, Cg. Permission to be 'heartbroken' if he comes back here to live..

I think it's a trifle arrogant to think that you can dictate what other people should be feeling..

That is you then westendgirl who cannot accept another point of view. We will have to agree to disagree.

Any one wondering where Johnson has been? I assume he will turn up today?

Gajaygran asks -

"Varian what is your friend basing her views on? I have family in NZ and was there myself in February and I did not come across this attitude. I think it must be media again."

NO, Gajaygran, I don't think so. My NZ friend has lived in many countries and has contacts all over the world, including a daughter and grandchildren in the UK, so I don't think she relies on the media.

She may also have looked at the statistics from covid related deaths. New Zealand has had 22 deaths, which is 4.5 per million of its population. The official figure for the UK is 39,045, which is 587 per million. It is hard to imagine anyone looking at these figures and not concluding that our government is doing a terrible job of dealing with the pandemic.

www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/

Goodness I just returned to this thread to find my son is Being criticised for his feelings. He moved to Australia when he was 30 so I think he’s entitled to feelings for the country he was brought up in. He is also deeply upset because I still live here as does his brother. Calendargirl your post has really upset me.

I don't think Johnson is a buffoon. I think it's an act to detract from what kind of person he really is and what he thinks of the electorate.

Where are you contacts who don't think the UK is a laughing stock Gajahgran. I must say that all the contacts I have in other countries think the UK is handling this badly and think Johnson is an object of derision. I guess it depends what kind of people you know.

How does negativity (or positivity, for that matter) alter facts?