Boris Johnson has gone on “shore leave”, said Stuart Rose, the chair of Asda and Conservative peer. It is an antique phrase, but accurate. As the ship of state sails towards a recession, the captain is absent, sulking over the below-decks mutiny that put a time limit on his command.
The prime minister’s behaviour as he leaves office seems almost designed to confirm the criticisms that led to his downfall: that he fails to take his responsibilities seriously or to believe that the obligations of high office apply to him.
Nor has either of the candidates to succeed him risen to the level of events. As the Conservative leadership election has progressed, the crises gripping the nation have deepened, but Ms Truss and Mr Sunak have focused intently on the ideological obsessions of party members. The campaign started off with a debate about tax cuts that seemed increasingly detached from reality, before being dragged, lagging behind events, on to the energy price crisis – on which the frontrunner’s policy remains hopelessly ill-defined.
