May 29, 2020

Coronavirus and corruption: how some people are above the law

topic:	Democracy
located:	United Kingdom, Russia
editor:	Gurmeet Singh

Imagine, if you will, two universities. One is in Moscow, the other in St. Petersburg. These two universities are the oldest and most prestigious in Russia and are held in enormous esteem around the world. These universities not only have immense property portfolios, but they also have well-established links to businesses, too. The Russian elite send their children to highly exclusive private schools, shut off from the bulk of society. The children are encouraged to believe throughout their lives that they are entitled to govern Russian politics, media and business. Eventually, they form a cabal around the leader (a product of the elite system itself), and they each protect one another, even as they are caught breaking the rules they demand the rest of society follow.

This scenario sounds a little too on-the-nose to be believable, a backdrop to a bad Hollywood movie or spy thriller. After a few scenes, you’d say ‘we get it, it’s a corrupt society’.

And yet, with a few minor changes, the description almost completely fits the U.K. The class system, the elite school structure, the universities which have direct lines to government and business, the sense in which it is all normal. In the U.K., this is called tradition, not corruption. This is why it is so hard for people within the country to see it.

It might seem like a stretch to criticise an entire set of structures and institutions for the actions of a few people, but Dominic Cummings' actions, and the government's response to them, have provided a useful illustration of how this corruption works in action. 

Cummings is Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s top adviser. He was behind the Vote Leave campaign of 2016 and was also infamously involved in Britain’s bungled “herd immunity” response to the Coronavirus. The Guardian writes:

“Durham police believe Dominic Cummings probably did break lockdown rules following an investigation into his travels around north-east England during lockdown, the Guardian understands.

"On Thursday the force released a report saying the prime minister’s special adviser “might have” breached health protection regulations when he embarked on a 52-mile round trip to the town of Barnard Castle with his wife and son on her birthday.

"Officers might have intervened to send him home had they caught him on the trip on 12 April, or fined him if he refused, the report said.

"His 260-mile journey to Durham on 27 March did not break health protection regulations, the report concluded, though it made no finding in relation to “stay at home” government guidance.

"Cummings has denied any wrongdoing and said the journey on 12 April, Easter Sunday, was to test his eyesight. The prime minister and cabinet continued to stand by him on Thursday.

"As part of their inquiry, detectives examined the aide’s press conference on Monday, where he repeatedly said that he had done nothing wrong, and concluded he probably did.”

So Cummings broke the lockdown rules that he himself helped shape. It is obvious to the British public that he broke the rules - rules the rest of society is expected to follow. However, the government defended his actions, and also Cummings defended himself in a Press Conference from Number 10 Downing street - something unprecedented for a mere advisor. The government even said Cummings was within guidelines, and it has even been suggested that they retroactively changed them to accommodate Cummings.

Cummings, Johnson and an entire host of government officials are a product of the same system. They defend one another. They believe the public should do as they’re told. They have shown that they believe the rules can be bent or broken for one of their own. They are even willing to change rules to protect one of their own. Writing in Vox, Jen Kirby commented: “The hypocrisy of Cummings’ actions was obvious; he defied the very government rules that he’d likely helped craft while everyone else had to obey the restrictions and potentially face fines if they broke the rules.”

I believe it is more than hypocrisy. Cummings’ actions show just how corrupt the system can be.

Image by leo2014 

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