COVID Conquered by Christmas

We should all be happy that some sense is entering the crazy COVID discussion.

Naturally, common sense doesn't hit everyone all at once, but those familiar with the spin-doctoring of our political class can see a change in rhetoric is underway.

That won't mean every politician will 'see the light' in the darkness they have created. There is simply too much at stake for that to happen.

Make no mistake, despite the rhetoric of 'all being in this together', politicians have rules for us and rules for them.

The evidence is everywhere but rarely on such public display as with the person elected Premier of South Australia. He handed over the state's leadership reigns to a bureaucrat over a year ago, but the marshmallow man, Steven Marshall, still has the title.

Marshall is part of the 'team' that has made mask-wearing compulsory in South Australia. Compulsory for us, that is, not for him.

Here he is at a recent awards night, eschewing his own draconian ( and hopelessly ineffective mask mandate) laws to get a selfie. He's the one holding the camera.

Little wonder so many politicians are considered hypocrites.

But Marshall isn't a leader; he's a follower, and the disregard for rules he expects others to comply with is not a sign of change, I noted.

Those signs emanate from the federal political arena. Here's the face of the national COVID advertising campaign, Dr Nick Coatsworth, on Twitter.

After eighteen months of crazy lockdowns that have broken the spirit and the finances of the nation, the 'trusted authorities' are now saying what some of us have been on about from the beginning.

The decisions taken have had profoundly adverse effects and now must be reconsidered.

These comments echo the words of the Prime Minister earlier in the week when he wrote:

Shifting our focus from just case numbers, to actually looking at how many people are becoming seriously ill and requiring hospitalisation will be increasingly what matters. After all, this how we manage all other infectious diseases.

You'll see more of this in weeks to come, and my tip is that COVID will be 'conquered' by Christmas. Here's why.

Firstly, a Federal election is coming up and the government will want some good news stories. They'll generate the narrative that the worst is behind us, and together, we avoided a population wipeout.

This will coincide with the typical summer reduction in virus load. The PM has already flagged less reliance on case numbers and a focus on serious illness, so the lower virulence of the Delta strain and warmer weather will help this claim along.

Then there will be the vaccine rollout.

By Christmas, we'll have a 70-80% uptake, the threshold to 'go back to normal'. Again, that will be nonsense as masks, lockdowns, and restrictions are all back in countries with high vaccination rates.

However, it will provide the necessary and convenient excuse for a clear run into the election.

Countering this will be the Labor State Premiers. They'll want to make things as difficult as possible for the Liberal's re-election prospects. They'll keep running as much interference as possible to blame the Feds for every problem.

They have proved spectacularly successful at it so far, aided and abetted by a media that loathes the Liberals.

If things come to pass as I predict, we should be happy that at least one branch of government has seen the light.

Unfortunately, it's hard to be buoyed by a change of heart that is almost entirely motivated by political ambitions rather than the good of the country.