In the words of that great song from the 1942 movie
Casablanca, “you must remember this / a kiss is just a kiss . That may be true for Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, but a kiss has become much more than just a kiss for one of Britain’s most important government ministers, Matt Hancock. It is a scandal and the kiss of political death for Mr Hancock, while being hugely embarrassing for his boss, Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
As health secretary, Mr Hancock has been forced to quit as the key politician in charge of the fight against coronavirus. When a tabloid newspaper published pictures of him caught on camera in government offices kissing a woman who is not his wife, it’s become much more than private embarrassment.
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The words “coup” and “USA” traditionally only appeared together in works of fantasy and satire. But that s no longer the case. The theme of an American coup is being increasingly normalised in US discourse through the conduct and language of former president Donald Trump and his allies.
More than 100 days into the current Biden administration, Mr Trump – who is now reemerging from a period of relative isolation at his Florida resort – has yet to acknowledge either his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 election or the legitimacy of his successor.
Mr Trump is struggling to be heard, particularly without his preferred Twitter platform. His dwindling band of aides pulled the plug on a much-ballyhooed Trump blog after only 28 days online, because few paid any attention to the incoherent postings. In retrospect, the brevity of Twitter imposed a useful discipline on Mr Trump s effusive tendencies.