By Stuart Clark |
MAYBE UNACCOUNTABLE IS NOT CORRECT, PERHAPS NOT HELD TO ACCOUNT IS MORE ACCURATE.
That is because all three countries are democracies, however flawed the various electoral systems are, and elections are where all three leaders can be removed, at some point. Bolsonaro in 2022, Johnson in 2024 and Trump later this year.
If Trump loses the election, that is, assuming the election takes place, and he accepts the result, another assumption, it is doubtful that Bolsonaro and Johnson will make it to their election dates. But elections are not the only reason leaders leave office.
ACCOUNTABLE IN LAW FOR COVID DEATHS ATTRIBUTED TO THEIR LEADERSHIPS.
As we marked last week the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre where 8000 men and boys were massacred. Such horrific atrocities carried out under an intentional policy of ethnic cleansing and classed as genocide, of course the leaders responsible were held to account. But can you hold leaders responsible for deaths from a global pandemic where the deaths were not intentional. There must be accountability of some sort for avoidable deaths on the scale we have seen. Deaths in Brazil and the US continue to soar. As of 17.07.20 Deaths for Covid 19 USA:141,124 BRAZIL 76,822 UK 45,119
If Trump loses the election, it is possible he could be prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter as a product of gross negligence. But it will be tough to go ahead with that. Many may just want to be rid of him. Whatever happens to Trump, it will follow, will also happen to Bolsonaro and Johnson.
THESE STRONG ECONOMIES SHOULD NOT HAVE ENCOUNTERED SUCH DEATH TOLLS?
As of 2018 The US was the strongest economy in the world, with The UK the 6th and Brazil the 9th. There are countries around the world with failing economies who are ill-equipped to deal with this pandemic. The US, The UK and Brazil with competent leaders could have dealt with it better and could have been able to offer more support to those in their regions less able to deal with the hits to their economies.
To understand better. Read: https://time.com/5861697/us-uk-failed-coronavirus-response/
The U.S. and U.K. Were the Two Best Prepared Nations to Tackle a Pandemic—What Went Wrong?
THE THREE STOOGES
All three leaders would not have been elected to lead their countries on merit and reputation. In fact, quite the opposite, but they are all prepared to do what is expected by those of the elite who have backed them, in return for the glory of being seen as saviours. Their ambition so great, their narcissism so overwhelming, that they have been prepared to do, or say almost anything. None of them could have expected that they would be faced with leading their nations through such a global pandemic. They are not natural communicators and are lost and directionless without a natural moral compass to aid them. All their decisions have been reactive, incoherent, and devoid of any purpose other than to be seen as remarkable leaders unafraid of a virus. It has not gone well.
THE US AND BRAZIL ARE FEDERATIONS, THE UK IS NOT. WHAT HAS OCCURRED IS ENLIGHTNING.
Early in the Pandemic, Trump played the States off against each other forcing them to bid for PPE and ventilators in costly competition with one another. As leader of the federal government he should have been coordinating federal resources and working with State Governors on consensus decision making, instead of trying to score political points against democratic governors. His actions have hindered the state response, but ultimately the US is the oldest country that adopted a federal constitution (in 1787 the constitution was drafted in the Philadelphia Convention and it’s still in force) and the fact that the President has no direct control over the States in relation to non-federal laws has saved citizens of the US from an even worse fate.
In Brazil it’s a similar situation where Bolsonaro has been in battle with the states who have tried to protect their citizens. But still, his leadership has had deadly results and ultimately may be the worsed. He has been the worse of the three in the bad decision making contest. He refused to wear a mask, but was forced to wear one by a judge when the requirement to wear masks in the federal district came into force on 30 April. Even that has not prevented him from catching the virus.
In UK which is still a Unitary state with devolved powers of the home nations, who have simply had to wait for Johnson to make decisions and then respond to them as best they can and within the remit of their powers to mitigate the effects of his haphazard and sometimes incompressible and inconsistent decisions. Their powers are limited and consultation lacking, from a government so lazy that they are constantly reacting to events instead of anticipating them.
BREXIT IS COMING AND THE SIGNS ARE NOT GOOD
The last thing Europe needs now is a senseless economic hit to the Union which is exactly what a no-deal Brexit would mean. There is likely to be a deal of sorts, but whether it comes or not, it will be a hit to the EU Economy, and considerably worse for the UK and of course Ireland. The effects on the Irish republic were not considered in any meaningful way by Johnson.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
All three rule by consent. We must all remember that. We do not all have to wait until the next election. In the US, the election is coming soon. In Brazil, possible impeachment is on the cards and protest is building. In the UK, the situation is worse, our warped Electoral system has given Johnson a large unrepresentative majority in Parliament but we the citizens must keep up the pressure for his removal from office, we cannot wait until 2024. We will see what format the recently announced public enquiry will be, but it may not be enough to quell the anger that is rising.
And although there are other leaders who have handled this pandemic poorly, these three stand out because of their incompetence and bad judgement.
They must be held to account.
Stuart Clark, Editor, UK
Stuart Clark is currently, board member and Nominations officer for the Federalist Party.
He was leader of the UK section of the European Federalist Party 2013-2016. He is active with Alliance Europa, and also the Federal Union in UK. As well as promoting Federalism, Stuart also campaigns for constitutional reform and electoral reform. He stood for Council Election in Lambeth in 2018. Stuart works for a global ticketing company and is based in London and Cornwall.
The views expressed by the editors do not necessarily reflect the views of Europe Today Magazine, that isn’t responsible for the content of any accompanying publications.