Et tu, Brute? meaning: “You too, Brutus?”
The above quote appears in Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar. Caesar uttered these words when he was being stabbed to death by the Senators, upon recognizing Brutus (His friend and protege) as one of the assassins.
The Trio
David Cameron, Boris Johnson, and Michael Gove were longtime friends dating back to Oxford University.
David stood for Remain (UK remaining in the European Union), Boris and Michael stood for
Brexit (The UK exiting the European Union)
When David lost the referendum in 2016, Boris became the de facto head of the Brexiters, having led the campaign for Brexit.
David resigned as Prime Minister (PM). Boris became favourite to succeed him, and guess who his campaign manager was? Michael Gove!
The First Betrayal
Hours before Boris announced his candidacy in 2016, his campaign Manager, Michael Gove shockingly announced his own candidacy. Boris was stunned and withdrew his candidacy because he lacked the critical numbers to win. This made Theresa May the clear favourite and she went on to win.
Boris in 2019 contested a host of candidates, including Michael Gove, and won, becoming the leader of the Conservative party and consequently the PM. Surprisingly, he pardoned Michael Gove, despite his betrayal, and made him a prominent member of his Cabinet.
The Second Betrayal
On Wednesday morning, July 6, 2022, news filtered in that Michael Gove had called on Boris to resign, Michael’s office came out to flatly deny the news as untrue. While Boris was being questioned by the Liaison committee, news came through that some of his cabinet members were waiting at 10 Downing street to insist he resigns. Notably among these cabinet members was Michael Gove. I can imagine Boris saying to Michael; “Et tu, Gove? “You too, Gove?”. While the world waited on Boris to resign that night, news came through that Boris had sacked Michael Gove. 10 Downing Street sources referred to him as a snake. It was alleged that he had been leaking negative news to the press and working behind the scenes for the past two months to have Boris removed.
Is Michael Gove a snake?
For a man once pardoned for his betrayal he should not have uttered the words ” Boris must resign! …………….or is this a case of “oya wo gzata bi ole”? A Ghanaian proverb meaning “a wound, that is self -inflicted”
Written By: Nii Kwartei Kojo Owoo