Coronavirus 54 Public Opinion

Data not dates may have been the quiet mantra but it was just the sub-text below the headline of 21st June 'Freedom Day'. Many chose to embrace the headline, not reading further, expectations trumping experience.

The Government gambled on continued decline in Covid prevalence and failed to adopt the policies that would have ensured success. Now it faces a new wave of the disease but has lost the support of large sections of the public.

This was predictable and predicted, the notion of a 'road-map' out of restrictions being based on wishful thinking rather than science, pandering to political popularism instead instead of adopting political leadership. It was a set up bound to fail.

The immediate problem that results is the degree of anger in substantial sections of the public. We have already seen some ugly demonstrations on the part of those who do not accept the consensus position on the pandemic and how to deal with it. We now see the attitudes of the conspiracy theorists spilling over into a wider rejection of covid restrictions.

There is a real possibility of civil unrest. It is of course absurd to think that this was a deliberate intention of the Government but it certainly represents unprecedented incompetence. Good governance requires the support of the people; the loss of trust leads to unpredictable territory.

The exponent in the exponential growth has increased.