...and how they were covered
What next?
So much for the idea that Johnson is “some sort of Tory liberal in disguise”, said Simon Jenkins
in The Guardian. His “crime-fighting” crusade is the worst sort of “populist electioneering”.
You only have to look at the Crime Survey for England and Wales–the most reliable measure
of crime rates–tosee that overall crime levels are stable, not rising. True, there isaparticular
problem with violent crime linked to drugs and gangs, but this is best tackled by improving
rehabilitation and probation services, and youth support, not by locking more people up for
longer. This is not the way forward, agreed The Secret Barrister in theInewspaper. “We
already have the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe.”
Whether or not the crackdown works in practical terms, it certainly makes political sense, said
Helen Warrell in the FT. The public regards law and order as the biggest issue after Brexit
and healthcare. In polling by Ipsos Mori,aquarter of people rated crime as one of their most
pressing concerns, up from 8% when Theresa May took office three years ago. The Tories
know they badly need to win back public trust on this issue. Many of them were “aghast at
the success of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in attacking the Tories for police cuts following the
terror attack on Manchester Arena in 2017”.
Those Tories will be reassured now, said Stephen Bush in the New Statesman. Johnson’s law-
and-order measures “move the debate away fromaquestion of public spending, which the
Labour leadership is very comfortable on, and onto an argument about how draconian
sentences should be–anargument Labour isalot less happy having”. The Tories’ tough crime
talk will play well with voters, said Katy Balls in The Spectator. As one party insider puts it:
“You can’t be too tough on crime in an election campaign.” The appointment of the hard-line
Patel as Home Secretary is part of the same strategy. In her first interview in the role, she said
she wanted criminals to “feel terror”. Labour condemned the remarks, butaYouGov poll
found that 72% of British adults agreed with it. Expect more of the same in the weeks ahead.
What the commentators said
Courts will still be expected
to operate under the current
presumption that short jail
terms should only be used
as alast resort, reports The
Daily Telegraph. Plans that
would have scrapped jail
sentences of under six months
have been postponed,
although it’s understood
Johnson is still attracted to
the concept provided that
alternative community
sentences are beefed up
and effectively supervised.The extra money for prisons
will fund an increase in
“cutting-edge technology”
to detect and block mobile
phones. Prison chiefs
welcomed the plans, but
warned that continuous
funding, rather than one-off
boosts, was needed to reduce
drug-fuelled violence in jails.What next?
“Yet another intifada is on the cards in Kashmir,” said Muhammad Amir Rana in Dawn
(Karachi). By revoking its special status, Modi has deliberately ended any prospect of resolving
the region’s problems through peaceful dialogue. Inevitably, he will blame whatever happens
next on Pakistan. Hindu nationalists have long called for the integration of Kashmir into India,
said Kapil Komireddi in The Guardian.Alandslide victory in this year’s elections gave Modi
the chance to act. But his ambitions go beyond “grinding down” the Kashmiris. He wants to
show other Indian states that his “untrammelled authority” runs through the entire nation.
Sadly, Modi has little to fear from the international community, said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay
on Al Jazeera. Around the world, populist leaders are launching similar “overt attacks” on the
rule of law without much “pushback”. And if some countries are uneasy, they are reluctant to
alienate “the elected leader of the world’s largest democracy”.
Modi’s move was not only “stunningly dangerous”, it was also profoundly “undemocratic”,
said Ayesha Ray on Reaction.life. Kashmir’s legislative assembly, which should have approved
the move, was suspended last year. That gave the prime minister opportunity to enforce his will
by asimple presidential decree. Not that many Indians were too troubled by his tactics. To his
supporters,Modiiss impl yfixin gwhattheysee as India’s“Muslimproblem”.Try to se eitf rom
the government’s point of view, said Sarjan Shah in The Indian Express (Mumbai). The Indian
state has spent 70 years attempting integration and dialogue; it has faceda“horrific” terrorist
campaign since the 1990s. Article 370 and other such laws had become little more than devices
“for separatists to exploit”. “Drastic action” was needed, not just to accelerate the physical and
economic integration of Kashmir with the rest of the nation, “but also to accelerate the
psychological and emotional integration of the Kashmiri people with the rest of India”.
What the commentators said
Modi has promised that
elections will soon be
held foranew legislative
assembly in Kashmir.
However, the polls will
most likely be boycotted
by opposition groups. The
prime minister has also
suggested that, in time,
the region could again
be granted full statehood.
Meanwhile, it will be ruled
directly from New Delhi.The security clampdown
was expected to last at least
until India’s Independence
Day this week. Some
restrictions on public
gatherings were lifted to
allow Muslims to celebrate
the festival of Eid, but were
later re-imposed.We seem haveaserious shortage of vaguely uplifting lifestyle
buzzwords in this country. At any rate, we import them in large
quantities. Back in 2016, it was all abouthygge,the Danish word
defined by the Oxford Dictionaries as “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that
engendersafeeling of contentment or well-being”. Then it waslagom,the Swedish word for not
too much, and not too little. Next the “tidiness consultant” Marie Kondo popularised the Japanese
termtokimeku,meaning “heart aflutter” but translated by her as “spark joy”–asin, chuck out any
possessions that don’t. Now there’sanew one heading in our direction: South Korea’snunchi.
Nunchiapparently means the art of intuiting what other people are thinking, and learning how to
anticipate their needs. The Times’s Alice Thomson went on holiday to South Korea, and is anunchi
convert. The Koreans, she says, teach it in schools, and regard it as the key to personal fulfilment.
“Having nonunchi,shouting or being selfish, is seen asaserious failing.” It makes people patient,
calm and empathetic. And soon we’ll all be able to read about it, courtesy of the Korean-American
journalist Euny Hong’s bookThe Power of Nunchi.Ithinknunchi’s going to be big, perhaps even
bigger thanhygge–atl east until the next soothing abstract concept turns up on our bestseller lists.
My money’s onsisu,the Finnish sense of stoic determination, but I’ve also
got my eye onataraxia,the Greek for “a state of serene calmness”.THEWEEK
Theo Tait
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