Paul Johnson’s diary: Boris would make a great PM – but he must strike now

I feel an intense antipathy for Vladimir Putin. No one on the international scene has aroused in me such dislike since Stalin died. Though not a mass killer on the Stalin scale, he has the same indifference to human life. There is a Stalinist streak of gangsterism too: his ‘loyalists’ wear masks as well as carry guns. Putin also resembles Hitler in his use of belligerent minorities to spread his power. Am I becoming paranoid about Putin? I hope not. But I am painfully aware that he would not matter if there was a strong man in Washington. As it is, President Obama is a feeble and cowardly man who makes even Jimmy Carter seem bold by comparison. He is running down America’s strategic capabilities while giving anaemic moral lectures. That he should have been elected twice tells us something disturbing about the American people. He is also unpredictable, may suddenly change his tone and decide on a show of force. This could detonate a nuclear war. It is weak men who get us into world wars by accident.

Angela Merkel I admire, but she is too burdened by Germany’s horrific past to take a strong line. The European community is a study in nugacity. François Hollande cannot control his own petulant females. The new man in Rome promises well — my friend Carla Powell swears by him — but will take time to acquire weight. In London the amiable but accident-prone David Cameron coasts to inevitable defeat. The only master politician in play at the moment is Nigel Farage. But he has no long-term vision. Happily there is our friend Boris. He still believes he can take on the Tory party without spilling Cameron’s blood. Not so. He must make up his mind and strike. He is the only tough guy of his generation with the skills and dynamism of a Lloyd George, and will make an admirable party leader, prime minister and summiteer.