Boris' calculations
David Blackburn 10:37am
There has been some speculation, most of it idle, that Boris Johnson will not stand for
re-election as London Mayor in 2012. Speaking to the Today programme about the necessity of protecting the Olympics budget, Boris commented on his putative re-election campaign. He said:
‘If things are still going well I would be totally crackers not to have another go at it then. But I'm going to be making an announcement later on.’
Many would describe his tenure so far as a comedy of inertia. I don’t: Johnson battled hard to shield the City from puerile political indignation at the height of the financial crisis. It showed a seriousness and determination not usually associated with a panel show politician. Boris had, and probably still harbours, prime ministerial ambitions; but in all likelihood the latest flurry of infidelity and paternity suits have curtailed his chances for the moment. Defending London for the Tories mid-term would be no mean feat, and Boris knows that.
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Mycroft
July 27th, 2010 11:35am Report this commentBoris hasn't a chance in hell of ever being Prime Minister, fortunately the cult of celebrity hasn't become quite as absurd as that!
Noa
July 27th, 2010 12:26pm Report this commentBack to Livingstone, I presume.
Tiberius
July 27th, 2010 12:41pm Report this commentJust why do the ladies like Boris? Is it something to do with his large corpus?
Chris lancashire
July 27th, 2010 12:52pm Report this commentHe's a complete plonker but I'm all in favour of inertia in politicians. As for PM, he'd be worse than Blair (better than Brown of course but so would a trained chimp).
lescam
July 27th, 2010 1:20pm Report this commentBoris isn't much of a politician (better as a journalist) but does have the gift of communication with the public, much as Reagan had. This is important. Gordon Brown had brains, but totally lacked the ability to communicate, and was cordially loathed by almost everyone. Boris is the opposite. I'm not saying he doesn't have brains, just the ability to conceal them under a veneer of "hail-fellow-well-met" bonhomie.
As far as communication skills go, Cameron isn't much better than Brown, he reeks of arrogance, entitlement, and general OE snobbery. To give Boris his due, he is the "people's politician", in appearance at least. As the cliche goes, he has a "likeable image", more than any other politician. His extra-marital goings-on only seem to broaden his appeal.
Stephen Bowers
July 27th, 2010 1:35pm Report this commentIf Moron Brown had brains I do not know where they were. His backside maybe?
Ahmed Khan
July 27th, 2010 1:53pm Report this commentBoris as PM would be brilliant. A 'larger than life' character is what we need in these depressing times!!!
Mycroft
July 27th, 2010 2:43pm Report this commentlescam, Johnson was an OE too, and he apparently doesn't suffer from the 'general OE snobbery' but is the 'people's politician' (ugh). Adnittedly it is a common illusion among people who don't know many or any OEs to assume that they must all be snobs, but it betrays a sad lack of insight into human nature; people who have no insecurities about their social status are in fact less likely to be snobs (or inverted snobs, which is quite as bad) that the general run of the population.
libertarian
July 27th, 2010 2:57pm Report this comment@chris Lancashire
Actually an UNTRAINED chimp would be better than Brown
anne allan
July 27th, 2010 3:27pm Report this comment"Gordon Brown has brains..." Remind me, was it seven or nine years that it took him to write his thesis?
Ahmed Khan
July 27th, 2010 3:42pm Report this comment@ Libertarian
Sorry but I disagree with you!
An UNTRAINED chimp would be too intelligent for Brown
egh
July 27th, 2010 4:05pm Report this comment"Just why do the ladies like Boris? Is it something to do with his large corpus?" Charm, Tiberius.
It's natural and manifests itself through all that wit and humour. Laughter is very seductive.
Because charm's so fascinating, I've been curious about how it works; and I remember it was Longinus ("On the Sublime") who observed that laughter is closely related to the passions. That inclines me to relate charm to "passio," which is actually about suffering. So I suspect there's something 'sympathetic' underlying the dynamic.
Any road --- I believe JFK was another who had natural charm; Elvis another still. Every time I see old films of them, I find myself smiling and muttering, "No matter what they say, he was lovely. .... He couldn't help it if he was awful..." :-)(
Further, though: DC is NOT charming in that way; quite the opposite. Whatever appeal he has is synthetic, calculated, cold. Quite nauseating, I think.
Rantonuk
July 27th, 2010 4:33pm Report this commentI put a rant on my forum when he announced he would spend 140 million pounds of our money on CANADIAN bicycles!
So, in his opinion WE don't need the jobs then?
lescam
July 27th, 2010 5:20pm Report this comment"Gordon Brown has brains..." Remind me, was it seven or nine years that it took him to write his thesis?"
I'm no fan of Brown, far from it. But with limited eyesight and many eye operations at the time, could it be that he found writing difficult, which would account for the time taken. I still say he has brains. More than Blair had, but Blair had an infinitely better image, so was more successful.
lescam
July 27th, 2010 5:26pm Report this commentWhatever slight appeal Cameron ever had for me, was negated when he took his own personal photographer with him to the memorial service at Westminster Abbey (for which he was made to apologise later).
It took me right back to the bad old days of Blair ("eye-catching initiatives with which I personally should be associated"). This kind of photo-opportunity turns me right off all politicians, and shows them up for the conceited megalomaniacs they are.
The Masked Marvel
July 28th, 2010 1:08am Report this comment"There has been some speculation, most of it idle..."
Sounds like every time Boris opens his mouth when asked a policy question.
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