The Journalists in United Kingdom love to ask the leadership candidates question about drugs. And this time has been no exception. Andrea Leadsom, Matt Hancock, Esther McVey, Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt all faced the questions.
They answered with an affirmative and Jeremy Hunt admitted that he had tried cannabis in the drink form. Rory Stewart confessed that he had smoked opium while he was backpacking in Afghanistan. Even Boris Johnson made a statement that he tried cocaine, “Sneezed and so it did not go up my nose”.
Whereas the question seems hypocritical, it is a crucial one. It determines the moral character of the candidate. On one hand Johnson is facing no problem whatsoever for his cocaine experience during his university days. Michael Gove‘s ability to run the government is questioned in wave of his association with drugs.
Michael Gove is the chief rival of Johnson to replace Theresa May. Last week he admitted that he took cocaine on several occasions when he was 30, and was working for “Times“ of London. He said that he deeply regrets the decision.
This admission concludes that he was penning articles during that time on anti-drug and lax enforcement. It seems hypocritical on his part to have done so.
Where Johnson’s image is not squeaky clean, but more of a teenage shenanigan, Gove’s drug history creates an image of a sordid elite who made a bad decision.
He said on The Andrew Marr Show that = ”I am very very conscious that the mistake I made was not one I would want anyone else to make”. And he says that he should be given a chance to prove himself. But is the nation going to trust him, is yet to be seen.
According to a YouGov Poll, 56% of the Britons and 67% of the Tory voters believe that someone who has ever taken cocaine should not be a part of the member of parliament. It is ironic, given Populus poll suggests that 59% of the population thinks marijuana should be legal.