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If Boris is Pericles, does that make Rees-Mogg Cato the Younger?

Who is Boris Johnson’s political hero? ‘Obviously Winston Churchill,’ said the Prime Minister yesterday. But Boris also named another figure from antiquity who has inspired him: Pericles of Athens. ‘He believed in the importance of the many, not the few,’ said Boris, helping himself to Labour’s slogan. Boris and Pericles have a few things in common, notes Mr S. Not least a love of speaking and having a younger girlfriend: Pericles’s partner was 25 years his junior, while Carrie and Boris Johnson have a 25-year age gap. So if Boris is Pericles, which other Greco-Roman figures are today’s politicians following in the footsteps of? 

Priti Patel – Draco

The Home Secretary has made it her mission to get tough on crime, recently stating that she wanted criminals to ‘literally feel terror at the thought of committing offences’. This passion for tough justice isn’t new to Patel.

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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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