It is not just Cummings who is attacking: there are no restrictions for the political elite in other parts of Europe

Cummings, who is often called the brain of the Brexit process and perhaps the most influential figure in British politics, has long been divided by UK society.

But this political figure suddenly brought the country together last weekend when it became clear that he had decided to break the restrictions imposed on public life and not isolate himself when he had to. In other words, they didn’t behave like everyone else should.

Do not regret and you will not retire

Cummings reportedly left his London home with his parents in Durham, some 400 km away in late March, just as the new coronavirus was about to spread. Most importantly, I was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms at the time.

Johnson’s adviser was immediately attacked not only by opposition workers, whose leader Keir Starmer said Cummings considered himself above the law, but also by celebrity politicians and the ruling Tories themselves.

Even the traditionally extremely conservative Daily Mail spoke on the front page about boldness and lies.

Admittedly, the Prime Minister defended D. Cummings on Sunday, and the latter said at a harassment press conference on Monday night that he had acted correctly and saw nothing to apologize for, not to mention his resignation.

Conservatives have to wait for new data on party rankings, although Johnson seems determined to sacrifice them: he really trusts Cummings and wants to continue working with the adviser.

How have similar cases been handled in other parts of Europe? In fact, there were violations, or at least suspicious and unclear behavior. But there were also radically opposite examples, such as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte following instructions and not visiting the care home of his dying mother.

In any case, apologies have been received in most cases; It seems that it is better to apologize in a strategic sense than to stick to your own.

Austria

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen apologized on Sunday when he and his wife were seen in a restaurant by police.

Still, you can sit and spend time at a restaurant in Austria under quarantine, but only until 11 p.m., and according to the police, Van der Bellen still enjoyed drinks after midnight.

Van der Bellen told Twitter that he left the restaurant for the first time since the restrictions were imposed, and that two friends had joined the Austrian president and his wife. He apologized.

“We lost our sense of time while chatting and, unfortunately, we lost the limit.” I sincerely regret it. I made a mistake. If the restaurant owner suffers as a result, I will compensate him for the losses, “wrote A. Van der Bellen.

A little earlier, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz had to apologize, who appeared unmasked in a crowd of people in a town near the German border.

“You can’t plan certain things,” said Kurzas, acknowledging that some people were not keeping a good distance from each other.

Germany

Earlier this month, Christian Lindner, leader of the Free Liberal Democratic Party, hugged a friend at Borchardt, a restaurant in Berlin that is well-liked by the political elite.

The whole problem is that it was seen by strangers. When the media moved, Lindner apologized on Twitter.

“Spontaneous hugs when saying goodbye were a mistake when spending time with friends. I did not do that specifically: we are all human beings. Sorry!” – said the politician.

Other German politicians have previously violated coronavirus rules and regulations. For example, Michael Kretschmer, the head of the Land of Saxony, went to Dresden to debate with protesters without wearing a mask.

And Bodo Ramelow, the head of the Thuringian Land, admitted to violating the rules when he went to his neighbor’s funeral.

The Netherlands

On the other hand, the head of the Dutch government, Mr Rutte, did exactly the opposite. Her office reported that the prime minister was reluctant to visit his dying mother because he decided to strictly comply with the announced restrictions and ban a nursing home.

Rutte announced the death of her 96-year-old mother on Monday. The grandmother died in a nursing home in The Hague on May 13.

The woman did not die from COVID-19, but Rutte’s representative assured that the prime minister “complied with all the directives” and did not see his mother before his death.

Romania

In Romania, thousands of people attended Archbishop Pimeno Zainea of ​​Suceava and Radauti’s funeral last week. Some mourners even kissed his coffin.

According to local media, the Romanian Orthodox Church has previously obtained a special permit for public funerals from the Emergency Department and the National Institute of Public Health.

In Romania, thousands of people attended Archbishop Pimeno Zainea of ​​Suceava and Radauti’s funeral last week.

But some citizens reacted angrily to the images of these funerals, as the quarantine regime allowed a maximum of eight people to attend the funeral.

Poland

In April, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and many other officials of the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) met publicly to mark the tenth anniversary of the plane crash in Smolensk, which killed President Lech Kaczynski.

During the ceremony, neither the head of government nor other politicians wore masks, nor did they keep distance from each other.

And on the same day, Kaczynski’s twin brother Jaroslaw, who is the leader of PiS, was taken by limo to the Warsaw cemetery, although at that time people were prohibited from going to the cemetery in all of Poland.

Citizens’ dissatisfaction with such double standards became a satirical song that, as J. Kaczynski was told, “Their pain is greater than mine.” State radio then removed the song from the charts and was charged with censorship.

There was another incident when Morawieckis went to a new restaurant to eat last week, but he did not keep a distance of 1.5 meters from other people.

The prime minister soon explained that the distance was not mandatory but recommended, but a government spokesman immediately added that Morawieckis was allegedly misinformed about the quarantine rules.

Morawieckis went to a new restaurant to eat last week, but he did not keep a distance of 1.5 meters from other people.

Spain

In March, Spanish Vice Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias was criticized for deciding to continue attending government meetings, despite the fact that his partner, the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, was infected with the coronavirus and was quarantined at that time.

In April, Iglesias was criticized for choosing not to follow the recommendation and not wear a mask. In addition to the latter, he also went to the store.

Finally, last week, thousands of people gathered for the funeral of the former leader of the Spanish communist party Julio Anguitos in Córdoba. The images of the ceremony angered many Spaniards, especially those whose relatives who died during the epidemic had to be buried alone.