Pǎrlis in ɖ fes v Britn’z crîsīz, Riśi Sūnac hz nǎ entrd hiz slf-pitiyñ ira
Transcription of a Guardian article of 21 August 2023
Ɖ prîm̦inistr hz ɖ condsndñ er v a man hu b’livz h z dwñ ɖ public a fevr bî guṿnñ s
Munde, 21 Ōġst 2023
W r yst t ɖ fact ɖt Riśi Sūnac onli hz tū spīdz: blandli rpitñ hiz fîv p’liticl “prîoṛtiz” n dytiḟli afrmñ ɖ nastiist v hiz parti’z reṭric. Ẃn h’z nt anṣrñ qsćnz bî rsîtñ ɖ fîv plejz, h’z atacñ lefti loyrz, “wouc nonsns” or invntñ cruwl wez t dten n dport asîḷmsīcrz. Bʈ, t a srtn xtnt, r pformnsz: ɖ r’botic reṣteśnz t mc clir ɖt, aftr a siriz v reclis Tori prîm̦inistrz, a grounup z bac in ćarj. Ɖ rîtwñ-popylist setñ, mnẃl, z dzînd fr hiz ǒn parti n ɖ Tori pres.
Bt smtmz anɖr Sūnac apirz in flaśz in a ʈrd spīd: ɖ slf-pitiyñ n fṛstretd prîm̦inistr. Wn hu sīmz t se: lc, y d’nt unḍstand hǎ mć I’m sacṛfîsñ fr y ppl.
Jst last wīc, ɖ prîm̦inistr tld ITV Nyz ɖt h z indyrñ p’liticl pen in ɖ cōz v brññ dǎn infleśn. Hiz arğmnt sīmd t b ɖt bî nt dwñ ẃt ppl wont – incrisñ guvnmntspendñ t miṭget ɖ cost v livñ – h z srvñ ɖ loñ-trm gd. “It mt mc evrwn fīl betr in ɖ śort trm t boro lots v muni t d lots v ʈñz,” h tld p’liticl editr Roḅt Pestn. “I’m nt gwñ t d ɖt.” It z nǎ a fmiłr pìs v Sūnac reṭric. Rlịr ɖs yir, h jusṭfaid hiz rfyzl t gv ẃt h trmd a “masiv” pêrîz t nrsz in Ñgḷnd on similr grǎndz. H īvn spouc v nt mcñ hiz “lîf īzịr” jrñ ɖ Cnsrṿtiv parti līdrśp-contest agnst Liz Trus last yir. It sīmz a s’prîz t him, or at līst smʈñ ɖt hz nt yt sunc in, ɖt biyñ prîm̦inistr z nt abt hiz ǒn prsnl martrdm.
On sm levl, Sūnac’s pend-peṛnt-dǒlñ-ǎt-hard-truɖz prsona z fmiłr fṛm Ʈać̣rît îdioḷji: a mraḷtitêl in ẃć slf-sacṛfîs pez ǎt. Bt Sūnac dlivrz it wɖ condsndñ impeśns rɖr ɖn sbrayti, rvilñ smʈñ dīpr abt himslf. It z hard t avôd ɖ impreśn ɖt hir z a man hu hz isćùd a pīsfl prîṿt lîf mcñ īvn mor xorbtnt sumz v muni in fînans in ordr t pubḷcli srv – n z nǎ anoid ɖt it’s ol a bit mor v a pen ɖn h francli hz ɖ peśns fr. Ɖ Britiś ppl r nt śerholdrz hu h cn pḷcet wɖ a PǎrPônt preznteśn spelñ ǎt ɖ fînanśl picćr, bt ppl hu hv psci fīlñz abt biyñ ebl t īt n hǎz ɖmslvz, hu r rîtli mcñ dmandz abt an ic̣nomic sistm ɖt hz feld ɖm.
Sm v ɖs z prṣnaḷti. It z nǎ abundntli clir ɖt Sūnac z incrisñli impeśnt wɖ – n distnt fṛm – a public ɖt jst dz’nt grasp hǎ mć h n hiz guvnmnt r dwñ fr ɖm. Last wīc, ɖ Libṛl Deṃcrats akzd Sūnac v biyñ “wǒḟli ǎt v tuć” ẃn h apird t tel ppl struġlñ wɖ hî eṇjibilz ɖt ɖe d’nt qt unḍstand ɖt, śr, bilz r hî, bt ɖe cd b īvn hayr. “A tipicl faṃli wl hv hd abt haf ɖer eṇjibilz peid fr bî ɖ guvnmnt ovr ɖ past sevṛl munʈs,” h sd. “Nǎ y wd’nt hv qt sìn ɖt bcz y wd hv stl jst got yr eṇjibil, it wd hv bn vri hî n y’d hv bn: ‘Ǒ mî goś, ẃt’s gwñ on?’ bt ẃt y wd’nt hv riylîzd, mbi, z ɖt bfr ɖt īvn hapnd, £1,500 hd bn lopt of, n ɖ guvnmnt hd cuvrd it.” In uɖr wrdz, ɖ public wd d betr t si ɖ numbrz ɖt r nt on ɖer bil rɖr ɖn ɖoz ɖt r acć̣li on it, n stop ascñ so mni sili qsćnz v ɖs vri bizi man.
Ẃt’s mor, last munʈ, h got tsti ẃn a redio inṭvywr prest him on hiz ys v jets n helicoptrz t gt arnd, seyñ it wz “an ifiśnt ys v tîm” fr smwn so bizi, n rǎndd on ɖ inṭvywr wɖ wn hel v a strwman, akzñ him v ʈncñ “ɖt ɖ ansr t clîṃtćenj z gtñ ppl t ban evrʈñ ɖt ɖ’r dwñ, t stop ppl flayñ, t stop ppl gwñ on hoḷde. I mīn, I ʈnc ɖt’s abṣlutli ɖ roñ aproć”.
Ɖr z an arğmnt ɖt ɖz r inevitbl PR glićz on ɖ part v smwn undr constnt scrūṭni. I am smtmz tld bî Sūnac s’portrz ɖt h z jst nt gd wɖ ɖ mīdia; h z jenyinli hard-wrcñ n lîct bî hiz tīm. Bt ɖz teći stetmnts btre a riyl sns v pǎrlisnis, misdirectd at ɖ public n ɖ mīdia. H z indd bact intu a cornr, nt jst bî hiz ǒn liṃteśnz, bt bî hiz parti n îdịlojicl pziśnz. Ɖoz Ʈać̣rît cnvix́nz r îɖr olrdi pleid ǎt – ɖr z litl left t prîṿtîz – or privntñ him fṛm acć̣li fixñ ɖ eilñ Britiś icoṇmi. H wl nt rêz taxz on asets or capitlgenz, or jenyinli cnsidr prîscntrolz t cīp infleśn in ćec, or contmplet, Magi fbid, borowñ t invst in ɖ sort v grīn téc or insyleśn ɖt liḅrets cnsymrz fṛm ɖ gǎjñ v eṇjicumṗniz n ɖ ẃimz v distnt wormunġrñ stroñmen. Ẃt z xpozd z an îṣletd man hu z ǎt v muvz.
H z rstrend īvn frɖr bî hiz ǒn frax́s parti. Ɖr z no amǎnt v hard graft ɖt wl vanqiś ɖ trublsm Jonṣnîts, Brexit obsesivz n lǎdmǎɖz hu se refyjīz śd “fuc of bac t Frans”. Ɖe cn onli b apizd n dmesṭcetd wɖ jobz in cabiṇt. N so h z stuc, unebl t lc inwd n admit Tori poḷsiz r ɖ probḷm, or ǎtwd t cnfrunt hiz ǒn parti’z xesz. H z a man, t adapt ɖ wrdz v ɖ cmīdịn Stywt Lì, “trapt btwn tū difṛnt formz v cawdis”.
Bt I d’nt wont t spend tù mć tîm picñ on Sūnac. Aftr ol, hiz stîl v p’liticl petyḷns z’nt cnfînd t him: it z a fīćr v a ded-end cnsnss in Wsminstr. It z ecoud in Cir Starmr’z scoldñ abt ol ɖ “tuf” n “hard” dsiźnz ɖt h hz t mc ẃn prest on ɖ plejz h hz wōtrd dǎn or abandnd. Bʈ partilīdrz agri ɖt ppl’z xpcteśnz mst b tmprd, hrîznz naroud. It spīcs volymz abt ɖ d’rex́n v Britiś poḷtics ɖt, az a jenṛl ilex́n lūmz, ɖer job z fîndñ mor wez t promis nʈñ.
