Boris Johnson: Fact or Friction?

As a modern-day political event, Boris Johnson’s succession into Number 10 comes as a shock to nearly no-one. In the midst of democratic turmoil unmatched since the Gunpowder Plot, the ever-growing political polarisation between Leave and Remain has allowed the newly graced Prime Minister to take advantage of the rising tide of nationalistic rhetoric in politics today, in order to slip past our line of view. In search of bettering his own political career, his actions and the actions of those around him have been conducive in further validating the recent increase of far-right activity and the subsequent decline of confidence and power in left-wing politics. As the inept figure of Jeremy Corbyn looms large on the horizon, the power the current conservative government can exercise in deciding the future for millions of people and countless generations should concern us gravely.

Ultimately, the fundamental issue is that as a nation, we aren’t able to commit to a consensus political structure as we once could have, such as during the early post war period. The subsequent partition created between the right and left has led to any political middle ground become less important and less likely to win over the voting populous. For instance, the failure of Jeremy Hunt arguably stemmed from his inability to commit to a leaving date on the 31^st October, something Johnson capitalised on during the debates by stating that he would take Britain out ‘with or without a deal’ by the end of October. Hunt’s failure to gain nearly half as many votes as Johnson says a lot about both Johnson’s right-wing agenda and its appeal today as well as the continuing political split running down the middle off the U.K. at this time.

I believe that while utilising the allies forged during his early days at Eton and later, as a political Journalist, he has consolidated his power in the same ‘democratic’ way Stalin did during the race for Leadership of the Bolshevik party in 1924.

Similarly to Stalin, he has used his background as a basis from which he built his ‘cult of personality’. Always conscious of public image, presenting himself as the typical ‘everyman’ by messing his hair up intentionally and acting Coy when interrogated by reporters.

While the political circumstances are ultimately different, and Johnson hasn’t (yet) started painting David Cameron or his beloved Brexit bus out of the history books, Political Satirist John Oliver perfectly captured his ability to manipulate the political reality surrounding him in a segment on Last Week Tonight (HBO, 2019) by using the example of when reporters confronted Johnson at his country home. He uses the intentionally loud and often outlandish clothing, coupled with offering waiting reporters’ cups of tea to deflect any attention away from his comments at the time about likening Muslims to ‘letterboxes’. It’s this carefully curated political image that has allowed Johnson to amass so many followers and believers in him.

However, it is the typical political Cliché of what we don’t see and how Johnson has manipulated politics among his party behind closed doors that remains equally important and should also be considered when reflecting upon both his character and his ability to govern. In taking advantage of the ties he had with Eton College London, as well as his close relationship with senior members of the Oxford Union, becoming its president as a consequence, Johnson has secured a great number of alliances with people who have become fore players in today’s political landscape. For instance, Conservative party members such as Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom and Dominic Raab all had close interactions with him during or around the time of his success at Eton and after, during the early year of his Journalistic career at The Daily Telegraph (U.K.).

This enabled him to cultivate the necessary repartee among the power political circles previously denied to him by his failed stint at The Times (U.K.). Further allowed by his Editor and former colleague from Oxford Conrad Black, it has given Johnson the chance to model the typical divisive political strategy we have come to expect from him in recent years. The perfect example of this comes in the juxtaposition of his support for Tony Blair’s aid and involvement with the United States during the Iraq War in 2003. Johnson become one of the main politicians to encourage Tony Blair’s unsuccessful impeachment in 2004, which he remarked as being a ‘colossal mistake’[1]. Its this type of political leapfrog that surreptitiously allowed Johnson to get away with making some truly outrageous statements on Religion, racial diversity and sexuality, arguably enabling him to gain enough support to become prime minister.

There is little doubt that we know so how the events of the next 6 months, including Brexit, the Iranian troubles, and the weakening level of the pound against the dollar will unfold.
What we do know however is the approach Johnson will take is one of a similar way that Donald trump has in his own political strategy. as with the democrats, conservatives split down the middle between those who support Boris and those who lamenting. This is evidence by the continuing resignations of ministers as he succeeded into power. This division is what got him to number 10, and potentially what would drive him out.

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[1] Andrew Gimson, Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson, 2^nd Ed., (Simon and Schuster, 2012), p.265

Last Week Tonight Boris Johnson segment:
https://youtu.be/dXyO_MC9g3k?t=858