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Boris Johnson: Optimism after a decade of austerity
The public may not always believe Boris, but it appears enough people are able to vote for him because he makes politics more interesting and yes, entertaining. #opinion
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Frontrunner: Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who is running to succeed Theresa May as prime minister, leaves his home in London, England. (Reuters/Hannah McKay)
T
he election by Conservative Party members of Boris Johnson as their leader and prime minister amounts to more a coronation than an election. Cometh the hour, cometh the man as the British would say.
For while there are many who are not Johnson fans, his ascendancy captures a prevailing sentiment in today’s Britain and speaks to the direction of politics internationally.
BoJo, as the British media have dubbed him, is an entertainer as much as he is a politician. His style is to conflate the two professions which has helped him to reach audiences and build profile that few other modern politicians are able to do.
Since 2012 the polls have consistently reported that he is the most popular politician in the United Kingdom, with voters being drawn by his humor and idiosyncratic style.
His career started in journalism where he quickly made a name for himself producing “flamboyant” articles for The
Daily Telegraph as its Brussels correspondent in the 1990s. His approach to being economic with the truth became a concern for his then editor Max Hastings.
Sacked by The Times for fabricating a quotation, BoJo always appeared to view journalism as much about entertainment, an approach he took with him into politics. As he once told the respected French journalist Jean Quatremer “You mustn’t let facts get in the way of a good story”.
