There are certain things one shouldn’t say in certain places. On stage it’s “good luck”; on a ship it’s “goodbye”. In newsrooms, the easiest way to get people to glare at you is to announce that it’s looking like a quiet news day. As all journalists know, saying it out loud will act as a jinx, and ensure that something major and terrible will happen right before the paper goes to print.
There isn’t quite an equivalent in political columnism, but consider this: in October 2021, I had lunch with a friend, who also works in the media. “How is it all going?”, he asked me. “Well”, I said, “I worry that 2022 is going to be a bit of a dull year. I have no idea what I’ll write about.”
Less than two weeks later, the Owen Paterson scandal started unfurling. In time, it led to the resignation of not one but two prime ministers, making 2022 yet another year worthy of study for future political historians.
