Ɖ atrnijenṛl’z ofis wz wrɖi v rspct. Suela ɖ stūj dsgresz it
(Transcription of an article published in the Guardian on Saturday 14 May 2022)
Induljñ ɖ PM on ɖ Norɖn Îrḷnd proṭcol z t hold hr ǒn rǒl in cntmt
Nic Cown, Saṭde 14 Me 2022
Îrḷnd wz ɖ sīn v a Boris Jonsn mastrclas in dspśn. In ɖ 2019 ilex́n, h fūld miłnz intu b’livñ hiz “uvn-redi dīl” wd “Gt Brexit Dn!” n w nīd nt wuri abt ɖ wornñz v Jon Mejr, Toni Bler n T’rīza Me v ɖ ʈret t ɖ Norɖn Îrḷnd setlmnt. Jonsn’z stret lî ɖt hiz wɖdrwl agrīmnt wd nt pt a bordr in ɖ Îriś Sì – “ovr mî ded bodi!” h craid n yt ɖ bordr z ɖr n Jonsn stl livz – fūld ɖ s’pozidli hard-nozd Deṃcratic Yńnist parti. Fîṇli, h cónd ɖ Yṛpiyn Yńn intu b’livñ h wz a man v hiz wrd ẃn h sînd a trīti cnfrmñ Norɖn Îrḷnd’z speśl steṭs ɖt h hd no intnśn v oṇrñ.
At evri stej, ɖ atrnijenṛl, Suela Braṿmn, hz cuvrd hiz bac. Ś hz dsgrest hrslf, hr ofis, hr pṛfeśn n hr cuntri.
Ɖ atrnijenṛl z wn v mni pkłrli Britiś consttyśnl ćecs on arbitrri pǎr Jonsn hz bloun awe. On ɖ wn hand, ɖ AJ z a poḷtiśn. On ɖ uɖr, h or ś mst uphold ɖ rūl v lw n act indipndntli v guvnmnt. Jonsn riylîzd ɖt nwn cd stop him apôntñ a sic̣fant hu wd d az h plizd. Braṿmn wz jst ɖ stūj h nīdd.
“Ś’z onli ɖr bcz ś’z a Brexitr v ɖ tru feʈ,” sd wn līgl figr hu, lîc ol mî contacts fṛm ɖ inṭsx́n btwn lw n guvnmnt, spouc on cndiśn v anniṃti. Jonsn “lct fr małbl līgl figrz hu wd d hiz bidñ n faund Suela”, sd a secnd. “I wz at a Brexit mītñ ś hostd n it wz staġrñ t riylîz ś dd nt unḍstand eni v ɖ probḷmz,” a ʈrd add. “I s’poz ɖt’s ẃ Jonsn lîcs hr.”
Last wīc, Braṿmn jusṭfaid Jonsn’z dsiźn t ignor ɖ mjoṛti v votrz in Norɖn Îrḷnd az h traid t rgen ɖ trust v ɖ Deṃcratic Yńnist parti poḷtiśnz h hd so spectaklrli ćītd bî ripñ p ɖ inṭnaśnl trīti h hd so snsirli promist t onr. Y dd nt nīd t b a loyr t grasp ɖ spīśsnis v hr speśl plīdñ.
Braṿmn clemd ɖt – “penḟli” – it wz nesṣri t cansl ɖ dīl bcz ɖ YY hd crietd “a tredbarịr in ɖ Îriś Sì”. Bt it wz Jonsn hu bcem prîm̦inistr bî rjctñ Me’z plan t cīp ɖ hol v ɖ YC clos t ɖ YY custmzyńn n sngl marcit. Jonsn pṛpozd ptñ a bordr in ɖ Îriś Sì so ɖ rest v ɖ YC cd hv a hard Brexit. Jonsn tc ɖ îdīa t ɖ YY, wún a jenṛl ilex́n on it, hd hiz sivl srvnts drw p a trīti ɖt dlivrd it n sînd it intu inṭnaśnl lw.
Braṿmn sd ɖ YY implimnteśn v ɖ Norɖn Îrḷnd proṭcol wz “unrīzṇbl n dispṛporśṇt”. I dfî y t rīd ɖ proṭcol n śo m ẃr ɖ YY hz brocn ɖ agrīmnt Jonsn wontd. Ś cncludd bî dspleyñ a cntmt fr hr ōdịns, n unḍstanḍbli hrslf, bî seyñ ɖt “tred z biyñ dvrtd”. Obvịsli, tred z biyñ dvrtd. Norɖn Îrḷnd z in ɖ sngl marcit n custmzyńn. Its bizṇsz r dwñ wel ǎt v it. So wel, indd, ɖt bizṇsz in ɖ rest v ɖ YC me wont t jôn ɖm.
Hana Arendt wz nt onli dscrîbñ dictetrśps ẃn ś sd: “Ttaḷtẹrịnizm in pǎr inverịbli rplesz ol frst-ret taḷnts, rgardlis v ɖer simṗʈiz, wɖ ɖoz cracpots n fūlz huz lac v intelijns n crịtivti z stl ɖ bst gaṛnti v ɖer loylti.”
Eni hîrarccl orġnîześn undr oʈoṛterịn līdrśp dz ɖ sem. T unḍstand hǎ Braṿmn rouz t an ofis ɖt sṗsificli dmandz ɖ holdr dsplez indipndnt ʈt, hr fnaṭsizm n mīdiocṛti mst b baḷnst.
In 2020, I rportd on ɖ fōls acǎnt ś gev v hr lîf. Ś ingreśietd hrslf wɖ ɖ rīdrz v ɖ CnsrṿtivHom websait bî clemñ ɖt, ẃn ś startd az a baristr in Lundn: “I wz ɖ śî Tori in mî ćembrz v ‘rît-on’ hymn-rîts loyrz. Dspt ɖ sośl stigma, I wz inspîrd bî Cnsrṿtiv valyz v frīdm fṛm an inṭvnśnist stet.”
Bt ɖ ćembrz ɖt ś jônd aftr līvñ Cembrij Yṇvrṣti wr enʈñ bt “rît-on”. Ś wrct at 2-3 Gre’z Ín Sqer, ẃć wz fild wɖ reğlr baristrz fîtñ dspyts abt ɖ lîsnsñ v pubz n betñśops, nt hymn-rîts lw. Wn v ɖ s’pozd “rît-on” leftiz wz a formr Tori MP.
Ɖ p’liticl advantjz v pozñ az a victim v a snoti libṛl ilīt wr obvịs. Bt sinicl c’ririzm dz nt xplen evri muv. Vaṇti cn matr az mć. Braṿmn hd an ordnri c’rir at ɖ bar, ẃć ś traid t mc sǎnd grandr ɖn it wz bî clemñ t hv cntribytd t oʈorittiv līgl txt-bcs. On inspx́n ɖe bòr no tres v hr nem.
Hr bṛvādo sjsts ɖt at sm levl ś me ʈnc ɖt a śadǒi libṛl ilīt hd stîmid hr rîz in ɖ lw.
Jonsn ofrd hr ɖ ćans fr vnjns ẃn h md hr ɖ cuntri’s fōrmost lw ofisr. Nǎ ś cd śo ol ɖoz snirñ libṛlz hu b’livd in e’ri-fẹri consepts sć az guvnmnts oṇrñ ɖer wrd abrōd n telñ ɖ truʈ t ɖer votrz at hom hu wz bos.
“A slf-rspctñ atrnijenṛl wd hv rzînd bî nǎ,” a formr lw ofisr tld m. Bt Jonsn ćouz wel ẃn h apôntd Braṿmn. F h ʈt ś wd tec a stand on prínsipl, h wd nvr hv gvn hr ɖ job. Īqli, f h dǎtd fr a momnt ɖt ś wz nt cmitd t atacñ ɖ YY, jdiśl rvy n ɖ Hymn-Rîts Act, ś wd hv rmend an obskr bacbnćr.
Hr wilñnis t c’lud wɖ a brīć v inṭnaśnl lw sīmz a smōl matr. Tẹrñ p ɖ agrīmnt wɖ ɖ YY wl ʈretn wstn yṇti ẃn w śd b standñ tgɖr agnst Ruśa. Ɖ YY me rspond bî startñ a tredwor, ẃć wl ʈump an icoṇmi olrdi suḟrñ fṛm ɖ baṭrñ Brexit, infleśn n Covid administrd.
In Norɖn Îrḷnd, ɖ Britiś guvnmnt’s dsiźn t tec a necidli secterịn stans in fevr v a hardcor Protistnt mnoṛti me ʈretn ɖ frajîl pīs.
Ɖ c’laps v ǎr insttyśnz z stl wrʈ noṭsñ, hvr. Fr ol its contṛdix́nz, ɖ ofis v atrnijenṛl wns dmandd rspct. Nǎ it z no betr ɖn biyñ consiłeri fr a smōl-tîm crŭc.
