Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Finally, Boris Johnson has overcome his stage fright. Let’s hear more from him

In my Daily Telegraph column yesterday, I asked where Boris Johnson had gone. We never hear from him now, I said, unless there’s been some tragedy overseas or some risqué joke backfiring in Bratislava. Since becoming Foreign Secretary, the most gifted communicator in the Tory party had been mute – a baffling waste of talent. While he sulked, Brexit was being defined by its enemies. The narrative has become one of tedious negotiations and no one in government seemed able (or even interested) in saying what the point of Brexit was.

Boris helped inspired a nation to vote for Brexit, and gave a wonderful, liberal and globally-minded definition of it – a very different version to that offered by Nigel Farage with his despicable posters. Without Boris, there would probably have been no Brexit. His appointment was inspired: we needed a Great Explainer, someone who could counter the myths being spread about Brexit and the motives of those who voted for it. A great diplomatic task.

As one British ambassador to a G20 country told me recently, it’s very hard to explain Brexit abroad when the project is being defined in the worst possible terms by the Economist, the Financial Times and the New York Times – the three English-language publications read most overseas. I told him that I’m afraid it’s the job of the Foreign Office rather than the press to make the British government’s case abroad. But I thought at the time: isn’t it a shame to have the most gifted communicator in politics running the Foreign Office, and he’s too nervous to give his ambassadors the verbal ammunition that they need?

In my column, I described three popular theories about why BoJo has lost his mojo, then advocated my own: that he’s taken aback by the bitterness of those he defeated and the obloquy heaped upon him personally.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in