The Daily - Boris Johnson's Change of Heart

Episode Date: May 12, 2020

As Italy, France and Spain entered national lockdowns, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was still shaking hands with coronavirus patients in hospitals, and then joking about it on national television. Then he was hospitalized with the virus — and by the time he returned, both his attitude and his approach to the crisis were transformed. Today, we explore why the country that was most skeptical of the virus may be the slowest to reopen. Guest: Mark Landler, the London bureau chief of The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Mr. Johnson announced a cautious plan for reopening over the weekend, including a new 14-day quarantine for foreign arrivals.While the British government frequently says it’s “guided by the science” in managing the crisis, the membership of its scientific advisory group, SAGE, has been a secret.

From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today, as Europe begins to reopen and countries like Germany send children back to school, why the country that was the most skeptical of the virus may be the slowest to reopen. Mark Lamper on the situation in Britain. It's Tuesday, May 12th. Mark, how would you describe Boris Johnson's original approach to the coronavirus?

Well, I'd say initially he was really kind of out to lunch on it. You know, remember, the earliest days of the virus in late January, early February, coincided with Britain formally leaving the European Union. Right. This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act in our great national drama. In those early days, Johnson was really very preoccupied and distracted by the milestone of Brexit. I know that we can turn this opportunity into a stunning success.

And whatever the bumps in the road ahead, I know that we will succeed. and whatever the bumps in the road ahead, I know that we will succeed. So there were several very key early meetings of his cabinet that he didn't attend, where the subject of the virus came up. And then even when you began to see the first cases in Britain and it became clear that Britain also faced a major risk, he affected an era of nonchalance.

Wash your hands with soap and hot water for the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice. He even sort of made light of some of the caution of the scientists. There was a very early press conference on March 3rd where he made a point of saying he'd visited coronavirus patients at a hospital and he went around and shook all their hands. I was at a hospital the other night

where I think there were actually a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody. You'll be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands and I think it's very important that we, you know, people obviously can make up their own minds. And then as if seeking validation, he turned to the government's chief scientific advisor who was standing next to him.

I think the scientific evidence is, well, I'll hand over to the experts. And the scientific advisor was shaking his head with pursed lips. But our judgment is wash. Washing your hands is the crucial thing. This is a guy who has his own way of living and very much a live and let live philosophy. And I think he brought an element of that to the early days of this crisis. Mark, there are obvious ways in which the story you're describing echoes what we saw here in the U.S. and with President Trump's initial response to the coronavirus. Having covered both our White House and now Downing Street, are there notable differences in the way the two countries and the two governments responded to their leaders

dismissing the severity of the situation? Oh, yeah, I think there are stark differences, and I would group them in a couple of categories. First, in the United States, you obviously have independent-minded governors who chose to respond to the crisis for their own states regardless of what President Trump's, you know, decisions and signals were on the federal level. You don't have that here in Britain.

Here, Downing Street, the prime minister really sets the policy for the whole country. So that's one obvious difference. I think somewhat more subtly is the role of the scientific community. In the United States, you had the CDC, Dr. Anthony Fauci and others very quickly and urgently calling for a very rigorous response for lockdowns. Here, on the other hand, you had a scientific community that took a slightly maverick initial response to this virus.

There were very prominent scientists who advised the government, who are arguing that maybe the best way to deal with the virus is to let it rip through the population, to let the population develop, you know, what they call herd immunity, and that that would build up a natural immunity

that would make Britain more resilient to subsequent potential waves of infection. So this was an idea that was circulating in the scientific community in those early weeks, late February, early March. And it, to some extent, also informed where Boris Johnson was coming down on these issues. Unlike in the United States States where Donald Trump has blown hot and cold on his scientific advisors, Boris Johnson has said from the very start, I will be

guided by the science. The wrinkle is that in those early days, the science was also calling for a more casual reaction. And that's what you saw in the first two weeks of March. reaction. And that's what you saw in the first two weeks of March. That's fascinating. So given that, what ends up being the official approach to this in Britain? Well, in the second week of March, good afternoon, everybody, and thank you very much for coming. Boris Johnson has a daily news conference, very similar to what you saw in the White House with President Trump. We've done what can be done to contain this disease. And at that news conference, very similar to what you saw in the White House with President Trump. We've done what can be done to contain this disease. And at that news conference, he begins to urge a very mild form of social distancing. We are considering the question of banning major public events such as sporting fixtures.

And the scientific advice, as we've said over the last couple of weeks, is that banning such events will have little effect on the spread. But he's stopping well short of asking people to quarantine themselves in their houses, closing restaurants, closing bars, all of things, by the way, that are being done by France, by parts of Germany, by Spain, by Italy. So at that point, Britain is a clear outrider. And you're really seeing the British go off in a very different direction that is really very striking and beginning to draw notice all over Europe. And then on March 16th, Imperial College, which is one of the leading institutions in Britain that studies infectious diseases, published a report that changed everything. the virus to spread through the population unchecked, it risked anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 fatalities.

Wow. It's worth noting that this report was written by an epidemiologist called Neil Ferguson. He's probably the leading figure on epidemics and infectious disease in this country. And his reports and his pronouncements have almost a sort of a holy writ quality to them. He's really viewed as something of an oracle in this area. And the report essentially terrified everyone inside the British government.

And you could almost see the change in the thinking take shape over the subsequent days as Boris Johnson continued to appear on television, each day looking a little more rattled, a little more anxious. And then finally, on Monday, March 23rd. Good evening. The coronavirus is the biggest threat this country has faced for decades. Johnson addressed the nation at around seven o'clock in the evening. From this evening, I must give the British people a very simple instruction. You must stay at home.

You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say no. If you don't follow the rules, the police will have the powers to enforce them. So you now finally had Britain in alignment with Italy, with Spain, with France, in a total lockdown. Stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives. Thank you. But it was at least a week to 10 days later than those other countries had acted. So in essence, Britain lost some valuable days. And sure enough, events begin to vindicate that very dark picture.

Some breaking news coming in to us from NHS England, and it is an update of some of the numbers of those who have sadly died. The death toll begins mounting. The hospitals begin filling up. And in fact, and most dramatically perhaps, the virus actually makes its way into the political establishment of the government. Now, proof that the virus can affect anyone came earlier on Wednesday when it was confirmed. The first dramatic moment comes when Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth, announces that he's tested positive. He has been displaying mild symptoms, but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual. A few days later, you begin hearing that senior officials in the government

are testing positive. The health secretary, the man most directly responsible for leading the response to the crisis, has to quarantine himself. He has symptoms. The chief medical officer is quarantining himself. He has symptoms. And then on March 27th... Hi folks, I want to bring you up to speed with something that's happening today, which is that I've developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus. That's to say a temperature and a persistent cough. Boris Johnson announces to the British public that he has tested positive for coronavirus and will be going into isolation.

But be in no doubt that I can continue, thanks to the Wizardry of Modern Technology, to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fight back against coronavirus. So what you see in that first week is Boris Johnson recording videos in which he says, I'm still at the helm, I'm still directing policy. He runs several crisis meetings from his apartment adjacent to 10 Downing Street. So he's isolated, but he's in command. That's the very reassuring message that he's trying to send. But then you arrive at an important weekend,

the weekend of April 5th, when Queen Elizabeth is going to address the nation on this national challenge of the pandemic. And she's delivered a handful of such addresses in her 68 year reign. So this is a very big historic moment for the country. I'm speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time. She addresses the nation early in the evening. We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. She finishes her address. But for now, I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all. And about an hour later, Downing Street puts out a press release saying

Boris Johnson has entered the hospital. We'll be right back. So, Mark, what happens once Boris Johnson enters the hospital? that happens is there's a great deal of uncertainty over who would actually run the government, were he to be incapacitated for a long time or, God forbid, not come back at all. Britain, unlike the United States, doesn't have a clear line of succession for the head of the government. But then you kind of enter this very unsettling period where the government is continuing to put out reassuring press releases. They invariably say the prime minister's in, quote, good spirits. But his top aides acknowledge that no one's talked to him for several days. His doctors are not releasing any status reports

on his condition. And there starts to be this undercurrent of worry in the country that things are actually maybe worse than we think. And then sure enough, a few days later comes the really alarming news. During the course of this afternoon, the prime minister's condition worsened. And on the advice of the medical team, he was moved in to a critical care unit. He's actually been admitted to the intensive care unit. Statistically, the odds of patients decline rapidly when they go into the ICU. And so there is a sense, a real sense, that Boris Johnson may not make it. This is obviously an extremely serious situation. I mean, how worried should people be about his health and about who's in charge of the government?

Well, the government's business will continue and the focus of the government will continue to be on making sure that the prime minister's direction, all the plans for making sure that we can defeat coronavirus and pull the country through this challenge will be taken forward. But then there's sort of good news. We got this statement from 10 Downing Street. We got this statement from 10 Downing Street. The prime minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery. You start to hear better things.

He's beginning to walk around a bit. He's beginning to read some briefing papers. And then on Easter Sunday of all days... Prime Minister Boris Johnson has now been discharged from hospital as he continues his recovery from COVID-19. We get the news that Boris Johnson has been discharged from the hospital. And of course the timing occasions some classic British humour. Senior government officials are heard saying to each other, he is risen and referring to Boris as the Messiah.

And for the country, the moment of peak anxiety, the moment where they genuinely thought they might have lost their leader has passed. Mark, I'm curious how Brits responded to all of this. I could see this being an obvious moment for the British people to turn on Boris Johnson. He was slow to act. He took risks.

He was pretty dismissive of the coronavirus. It would be easy to see all of this as the actions of an irresponsible leader that almost cost him his own life and deprived the country of its prime minister. That's a very plausible assumption to make. But oddly, it isn't the way it played out. And I think the reason it isn't has to do with

the rather clever way that Boris Johnson handled his own illness. Good afternoon. I've today left hospital after a week in which the NHS has saved my life. No question. On the day he was released from the hospital, he recorded this very heartfelt video in which he thanked the doctors and nurses

at the hospital for saving his life. I'm going to forget some names, so please forgive me, but I want to thank Poling and Shannon and Emily and Angel and Connie and Becky and Rachel. He singled out two of the nurses. Jenny from New Zealand in the Cargill on the South Island, to be exact, and Luis from Portugal near Porto. Who kept a vigil at his bedside all night long, giving him oxygen. For every second of the night, they were watching, and they were thinking and they were caring, and making the interventions I needed.

The NHS in this country is a revered institution, and so Boris Johnson very much tied himself to that institution and made his own personal story part of a broader narrative. And in so doing, he kept the support of the public. Far from turning on him, far from telling him you got what you deserved, I think a lot of people in this country were sympathetic to him. And it's really all the more remarkable when you consider that in the days and weeks since he left the hospital, the death toll from coronavirus in this country

has continued to spiral upward. And as of a week ago or so, Britain now has the largest number of deaths of any country in Europe and the second largest number of deaths of any country in the world after the United States. And yet, even with that tragic human cost of this virus, Boris Johnson and his government

retain the support of something like 51, 52% of the people who approve of the way that they've handled this virus. So, Mark, where are we right now in Britain? I mean, we're watching the world, Europe in particular, start to figure out what reopening is supposed to look like. Given this up and down history that you just recounted, what are you seeing that look like in Britain? Well, so Britain is facing this increasing pressure to restart its economy, to ease the lockdown, to try to bring society back to some level of normalcy. And you're beginning to see the Italians, the Spanish, the Germans lift their lockdowns.

Britain reaches that same moment. And Boris Johnson announces he's going to give a speech to the nation in which he's going to lay out a roadmap. And there's a tremendous burst of hope that we are at the end of this difficult period. Some of the tabloids talk about the end of the lockdown and, you know, the happy days that lie ahead. And so on Sunday night... It is now almost two months since the people of this country began to put up with restrictions on their freedom, your freedom. Boris Johnson does appear and he delivers this fairly detailed speech.

So I want to provide tonight for you the shape of a plan both to beat the virus and provide the first sketch of a roadmap for reopening society. He lays out all sorts of benchmarks and criteria. And the first step is a change of emphasis that we hope that people will act on this week. that we hope that people will act on this week. We said that you should work from home if you can and only go to work if you must. We now need to stress that anyone who can't work from home, for instance, those in construction or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work

and we want it to be safe for you to get to work. In step two, at the earliest by June the 1st, after half-term, we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools. But when you actually go back and read his words... And step three, at the earliest by July and subject to all these conditions and further scientific advice, if and only if the numbers support it, we will hope to reopen at least some of the hospitality industry and other public places, provided they're safe and enforce social distancing.

Really nothing much has changed. He's given a very dramatic speech in which he has barely budged the policy. And so, no, this is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week. Huh. So his speech about reopening is really about how Britain is not about to truly reopen. Yes, this turns out to be a speech that when you really analyze it is about why we are going to continue to live under a lockdown. One that might be tweaked at the edges here and there. There might be slight shifts, but fundamentally nothing is changing in this country. It's kind of remarkable how everything has flipped. slight shifts, but fundamentally, nothing is changing in this country. It's kind of remarkable how everything has flipped. Meantime, neighboring, more progressive countries like Germany, which took the virus so seriously from the beginning, are now announcing

relatively aggressive reopening plans. And here we have Britain taking this far more cautious approach. It all seems quite scrambled. And I wonder what you make of that. Well, it's interesting. Every country had to make a choice about how to deal with something that is fundamentally so mysterious and so unpredictable. And the choices these countries made played out in ways that were either fortunate and successful or tragic and largely unsuccessful. And that, in turn, has very much driven the way that these countries have dealt with this moment,

the moment where they lift the lockdown. And so you have in Germany a country that, as you say, took the threat extremely seriously at the beginning, was very conservative, was very cautious, went to a lockdown, took the science of it extremely seriously. In Germany, the caution paid off, the death tolls stayed low. And now as we come to this moment of lifting the lockdown, the Germans have the confidence to be brave, to take some risks, to lift elements of the lockdown, even at the risk of kicking up the infection rate. And conversely, here in England,

where they came into this crisis with such an air of self-confidence, they've now been rattled to their core. They've really had their confidence shaken. And far from being brave or bold at this moment, they're now the country that's reacting with extreme caution. This libertarian country is now ready to keep the heavy hand of government in place

as long as it takes. And so you really see a role reversal that reflects how this virus has struck different countries, how the experiences that they've undergone have been so starkly different, and as a result, how they're going to emerge from this period is sometimes extremely unexpected. And in Britain, it's been perhaps the most unexpected of all. The country that took this

pandemic the least seriously is arguably going to now take it more seriously than anybody else. Mark, thank you very much. Thank you, Michael. Here's what else you need to know today. On Monday, countries across the world took some of their biggest steps yet toward easing restrictions on their citizens' movements. easing restrictions on their citizens' movements. Spain began permitting small gatherings of up to 10 people and for small shops to reopen. France allowed residents to leave their homes without filling out release forms for the first time in eight weeks.

release forms for the first time in eight weeks. And Russia announced the end of nationwide stay-at-home restrictions, despite a recent rise in infections. And. If you look at all of those people over there, every one of them, from what I see, these are White House staffers, they're White House representatives, they're White House executives, and everybody has a mask on. The White House has instituted a new rule requiring that all employees wear masks inside the West Wing after two aides tested positive for the coronavirus. Were you the one who required that, sir? Yeah, I did. I did. I required it, yes. Please.

But the policy is not expected to apply to either the president or the vice president, who for weeks have avoided wearing masks, an attitude that the Times reports had trickled down to staff members, creating a dangerous situation. That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.