About 6 weeks ago Russia and Ukraine war began. So far there is no end in sight. It’s hard to tell who won the war or it’s implications. But as things stand, as of today (April 10) one big winner is British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and big loser is Rishi Sunak.
Before Russia and Ukraine war broke out, British media was full of stories around Prime Minister Johnson holding parties at his official residence 10 Downing Street while rest of Britain was under strict lockdown and restrictions. Press, political commentators and opposition parties were calling for Johnson to step down. For most part his colleagues were supportive of the Prime Minister. One man who tried to keep quiet and apparently didn’t back his boss enough is Rishi Sunak.
After Russia and Ukraine war broke out, issue of Prime Minister and lockdown parties disappeared from news cycles. During this process media attacks on Mr. Sunak started. Mr. Sunak is married to Akshata Murthy who is daughter of N R Narayana Murthy (one of the founders and former CEO and Chairman of Indian IT giants Infosys). Legitimate business dealings of Infosys with Russian businesses and government entities and Akshata Murthy’s tax status (which is perfectly legal) are now occupying British media’s news cycles. One of the most ridiculously fascinating story about this saga is news about Akshata Murthy being richer than the Queen Elizabeth. There are many people in UK who are richer than the Queen. But to target Akshata Murthy is utter nonsense and amounts to border line racism. As a peace offering, Akshata Murthy is now going to pay tax to British treasury for income earned outside UK. At one point, things were so bad that Mr. Sunak was contemplating resigning from his post.
Whether Mr. Sunak was keeping distance from his boss, to keep his own aspirations for top job open or not remains to be seen. Bottom line is simple, when your boss is under pressure always be supportive and vocal. If you’re planning a coup and take over things, don’t make half hearted attempts. Either way have conviction and execute the plan!!