Boris Johnson fell into the trap created by his own speech, the idea of an exceptional nation and different from the rest, and has been overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Part of his mistakes and misgivings in the initial response responded to fear of the irreparable collapse of the UK economy or the underestimation of the danger facing the country. The British Prime Minister opted for a reckless and unfounded voluntarist optimism and for the assumption of risks posed by scientific calculations, immediately questioned by experts, who ignored the basic rule of any political leader: collective security requires much more prudence and realism than individual security. Adjusting to the most convenient hypothesis in the face of an unforeseen threat is not enough. It is necessary to respond to the worst possible scenario.
The situation is a perfect storm in a country that was already dragging years of uncertainty about its future. The arrival of the virus has coincided with that of Brexit, and has conditioned the ability to act of a government convinced that it had "regained control" of its decisions, as the hackneyed slogan of Eurosceptics claimed. When you only have a hammer, all problems look like nails. The entrenched belief among many conservatives, Johnson the first, that British liberal democracy could not withstand fundamental rights restrictions such as those imposed in other European countries has weighed heavily in deciding to take drastic measures such as population confinement.
But above all, the biggest mistake has been the disregard for politics and the exaltation of technical analyzes, however far-fetched, fueled by Downing Street's star adviser Dominic Cummings. Even the most prestigious scientific advisers - and Professors Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance, at the helm of the Government's response team, are - risk adjusting their conclusions to the liking of Johnson's ear. The group immunity theory, according to which it was necessary to allow the contagion of 60% of the population to stop the virus, was a communication disaster that the British authorities immediately regretted. The same as the constant search for complicity in the population so that the official recommendations are adopted voluntarily. The crowded pubs and restaurants last weekend were proof that the strategy was not working.
The United Kingdom has lost vital time to respond to the pandemic, and has learned the painful lesson that, for all intents and purposes, it has long ceased to be an island.
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