For me it still wasn't that the parties (and they were parties, let's call a spade a spade) happened - it was that Boris and his associates continually lied about them happening, and when each lie got disproved, they made up a new lie to adapt to the situation.
Him admitting, that yes, he was presented with a birthday cake at the start of a cabinet meeting and they had a drink to celebrate before getting down to business, or admitting that yes, he did attend the last day of a senior civil service staff member and raise a toast to him, would both have been damaging but far less than everything him saying being contradicted by a subsequent leak a day or two later.
People needed humility from the leader of the country, instead they got excuses, bluster and bluffing - and that is what eventually destroyed his credibility. A good leader is not just someone who makes the right decisions, they're someone who can admit when they got them wrong and mean it when they apologise.
We saw the exact same thing with Dom - lie about things, when found out, invent bigger lie, when found out, invent ridiculous lie, hope everything blows over. What was different for Dom is that the public had no ability to kick him out of office, so instead of outrage at his behaviour his story became a subject of ridicule.
Him admitting, that yes, he was presented with a birthday cake at the start of a cabinet meeting and they had a drink to celebrate before getting down to business, or admitting that yes, he did attend the last day of a senior civil service staff member and raise a toast to him, would both have been damaging but far less than everything him saying being contradicted by a subsequent leak a day or two later.
People needed humility from the leader of the country, instead they got excuses, bluster and bluffing - and that is what eventually destroyed his credibility. A good leader is not just someone who makes the right decisions, they're someone who can admit when they got them wrong and mean it when they apologise.
We saw the exact same thing with Dom - lie about things, when found out, invent bigger lie, when found out, invent ridiculous lie, hope everything blows over. What was different for Dom is that the public had no ability to kick him out of office, so instead of outrage at his behaviour his story became a subject of ridicule.