PS: what has four legs and flies?
It’s often instructive to pay close attention to what people actually apologise for. In her resignation statement to the press Allegra Stratton apologises for becoming ‘a distraction in the fight against covid’ and apologises that her remarks in 2020 ‘seemed to make light of the rules’. She goes on to say that she understands the frustration of people, and particularly those who have suffered bereavements or other hardships during the pandemic and is therefore resigning.
Poor woman, it must be like groundhog day for her. She can’t apologise for there being a party: that would be an acknowledgement that there was a party. She can’t deny there was a party, since to do that now would be laughably improbable. She can’t laugh it off this time since she knows that it’s contrition that’s required. So, she does the time honoured thing of essentially apologising for any offence or hurt caused, rather than for anything she’s actually done or is even responsible for. She was right about one thing though: she had become a distraction and in doing so had performed the role expected of her with consummate professionalism.
