Rishi Sunak and Caesar's Wife

Second time lucky. Rishi Sunak became the British PM so suddenly that the Indian media didn’t get any chance to publish reams on what his chances were. His father-in-law, Narayan Murthy’s statement is what triggered this blog. Murthy said:

“We are confident he will do his best for the people of the United Kingdom.”

Put the other way, don’t expect Sunak to be any more India friendly than any other British PM. In fact, Sunak may have to be extra careful that he doesn’t get seen to be favourable to the country of his ancestors, esp. since his wife is still an Indian citizen (in case you wondered, it’s for tax saving reasons – by not becoming a British citizen, her income from Infosys dividends remains tax-free in Britain – in 2022 alone, that amounts to ₹126.61 crore ($15.3 million):

“Caeser’s wife must be above suspicion.”

 

That line reminds me of the tale behind it from Mary Beard’s SPQR. In 62 BC, there was a scandal in Rome. At a solemn, all-women, religious festival held by Julius Caeser’s wife, a man was found. Problematically, the man in question was high-up in Roman politics, and thus a man who Caesar could not afford to make an enemy of. Letting the event slide wasn’t an option either, since tongues were wagging – was the man having an affair with Caesar’s wife?

 

You can imagine Caeser’s predicament. Do nothing, and he would be the butt of ridicule. But take action, and the man (and his well-connected family) would become enemies. Caesar had do something, but all his choices were problematic, so what was he to do?

 

Aha, but Caesar was, among many things, a master politician. Placed in a situation that seemed to offer only two impossible options, Caesar created a third option. Was it his wife who had been unfaithful in the incident, was she the seductress who had lured the man? – he asked. Having thrown a third option in the mix, he then pretended to be fair about his decision. While there was no evidence that his wife may have instigated the whole event, he declared that in her role, the bar was higher:

“Caeser’s wife must be above suspicion.”

And went on to then divorce her, thereby making a decision on the whole sordid affair without losing face or creating a political enemy.

 

Politics throughout the ages has been the same…