The fatal politics of betrayal

Kim Hyun-ki
The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

“Et tu, Brute [You too, Brutus]?” Roman strongman Julius Caesar groaned in disbelief as he was slain by his closest protégé Marcus Brutus, who was the last to stab him among a group of conspiring senators in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar (1599). There is no historical evidence about Caesar’s last words, but the three words the English master of drama put together for theatrical effect epitomized the fall of Caesar and the betrayal of a trusted friend. At first, Caesar challenged and resisted his assassinators, but he withdrew upon finding Brutus coming toward him with a sword, and mutters, “Then fall, Caesar.”

The famous quote came into mind while witnessing President Joe Biden being utterly abandoned by the Democrats, friends, supporters and donors after his blistering and mortifying performance against his opponent and predecessor Donald Trump in the CNN-hosted TV debate on June 27. The New York Times (NYT), one of his avid cheerleaders among the media commentariat, published a column by Biden’s friend of 23 years and liberal columnist Thomas Friedman, who wrote that the debate was one of the most “heartbreaking” events he has witnessed in American politics that made him “weep.” Biden “has no business running for re-election,” Friendman wrote. The following day, the Times editorial board called on Biden to drop out of the race. “The greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election,” the editorial said. The paper followed up its campaign to push Biden out of the race to stop Trump’s retake of the White House to claim that Biden had appeared confused or listless. It is rare for the NYT to be so harsh on a Democratic candidate. We can imagine Biden gasping at the paper’s betrayal.

The Japanese political stage has also entered the betrayal scene. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who managed to defend his seat for 1,000 days, is on the brink of breaking up with party seniors and allies — Taro Aso, the vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi.

Kishida ascended to party presidency in 2021 through the coalition of factions each led by him, Aso and Motegi. All public policies under the Kishida administration went through endorsements with the other two. In January, Kishida announced he was dissolving his faction to end factional legacy in the party, which caused friction with his two other partners. Then he conceded to a political funds bill the two opposed.

Aso, an 83-year-old politician with 45 years on the political mainstream, intentionally leaked a photo of a tête-à-tête with Motegi that lasted for more than three hours. Aso’s betrayal could be painful for Kishida hoping for his re-election as party leader in September.

Double-crossing is a familiar theme on the Korean political stage. Han Dong-hoon — former interim leader of the governing People Power Party and aspirant for the chairmanship at the upcoming convention — is being labeled as a betrayer of his patron, President Yoon Suk Yeol. Won Hee-ryong, a heavyweight also vying for the chairmanship, accuses Han of betraying the president — his former boss at the prosecution and in the cabinet — who debuted him on the political stage by placing him at the party’s command for the crucial parliamentary elections in April. Han’s proposal to motion a special bill to enable an independent counsel probe on the suspicious death of a Marine, despite the president’s veto, was an act of betrayal, Won thinks. Officials from the presidential office have also leaked that the president was hurt and enraged by his trusted protégé for attacking him and his wife. Han denies the claim and adds, “I will never betray the people.” He vows faith to the people not the president.

We go back to Shakespeare’s play. In defending his action to the citizens of Rome at Caesar’s funeral, Brutus cried, “[… ] as he was valiant, I honor him, but as he was ambitious, I slew him […] I have done no more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus.” He claimed, “Not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more,” a quote Han could have borrowed in excusing his disloyalty to his long-time supporter.

In a denouement-setting speech in defense of Caesar, Mark Antony exclaimed, “Judge, oh you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him [Brutus]! For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, ingratitude, more stronger than traitors’ arms quite vanquished him, then bust his mighty heart […] O, what a fall was there, my countrymen! Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,” he lamented. The citizens sympathized with Antony, not Brutus. On July 23, can we expect a dramatic turn or a remake of a Roman tragedy?