This may be the year Boris Johnson's luck runs out

DAVID Cameron displays a not insignificant resentment towards an old school chum. He recently noted that UK Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson can "get away with things that mere mortals can't". The former PM has previously put his angst in more colourful terms: "The thing about the greased piglet is that he manages to slip through other people's hands."

Such frustration reflects the failures of Cameron's own political career, but it is also shared by Johnson's enemies, who struggle to comprehend how his mishaps and missteps have failed to knock his standing. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, opposition strategists are bemused as to why his mistakes have gone unpunished by the general public. "His decisions led to more people dying, and yet people did not seem to care," one notes.

Johnson's decision not to follow the path of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with further Covid-19 restrictions before the new year is a huge gamble. It may be based on data - ministers insist the hospitalisation rates in England do not justify additional measures - or it may be expediency, with Tory Members of Parliament opposed to such restrictions. But if it pays off, it may all be down to luck - one of the most underestimated characteristics of politics.