Rishi’s bigger mistake

This may surprise you, but I don’t think Rishi Sunak’s biggest mistake was his decision to come home early from the D-Day commemorations.  Of course, it has prompted a thousand memes and jokes.  Yes it caused outrage, some of it genuine, some of it faux and it has definitely put his campaign on the back foot.

However, there is an argument that he was right not to be there.  The problem is that the Prime Minister, especially in a semi-presidential age is part ceremonial and yet, it is also a political role in a country where we try to separate the two.  In France and the USA, the political and ceremonial role are overtly combined.

Now, this feeds into one of frequent comments I’ve seen, that Sunak also missed the opportunity to be seen with other world leaders and to be the statesman.  It’s been pointed out that Sir Keir Starmer was there and visible.  Ironically, this builds a strong case for Sunak not being there.  I suspect he could not really win. If he had been there, then he would have been accused of using it for a photo-opportunity.  Obviously, he had to be involved to some extent but I’m specifically thinking of the photo on the beach.

This brings me to what I think was the mistake.  It is arguable that at this stage it would have been better for the head of state, or in this case, his representative, Prince William (Charles III also returned early due to his health) to be seen and photographed with other heads of State. This would have made the German Chancellor the odd one out.

Sunak’s mistake then was not just to fail to be there but to allow David Cameron to step in and be his representative.  This was something that the Foreign Secretary could not replace him for. This also begs the question, Cameron is both an experienced political campaign and a former Prime Minister. He must have known immediately that this was a bad situation. He also must have known that his presence would harm not help the situation.  So, why did he not step in?

This raises another question.  Sunak’s cabinet have been quick to condemn not just to distance themselves and alongside that, we have a situation where he keeps making gaffes and people like Cameron are not stepping in to warn again nor does he seem to have a close team around him to protect him from his own mistakes.  That is perhaps his biggest mistake, the lack of people to tell him he is on the wrong track.

This becomes relevant to you and me.  Do we have good friends around us who care enough and are faithful enough to challenge us.