As one of the country’s most iconic figures, Boris Johnson’s scruffy appearance as an unserious, often times comical man did nothing to hamper his chances at leading Britain.
Until he was finally brought down by a positive avalanche of issues that no democratic politician could feasibly withstand, Boris Johnson appeared to be all but immortal. His political life was plagued by a near-endless stream of political issues which individually would have brought down any other Prime Minister.
From election lies and interview avoidance to Partygate, cheating allegations and the unlawful prorogation of Parliament, Johnson’s ability to withstand all until an inevitable death-by-one-thousand-cuts style collapse hinged upon the political persona he has always played. Underneath the veneer of the bumbling clown, unsure quite as to what he’s doing, lay a politically savvy opportunist who navigated treacherous waters in order to stay on top.
As Boris Johnson’s tenure as Prime Minister came to an end, his sister Rachel Johnson spoke of a boy who, at the age of two, declared that he wanted to be “world king”. Whilst he didn’t quite manage to achieve such a lofty ambition, the man that Boris Johnson would become came about as close as he could conceivably get.
One of the more revealing insights into Johnson’s character came as early as his time at Eton College. Boris was in a play at school and hadn’t learned his lines, instead hiding behind a pillar on the stage and reading them to laughs from the audience. It was there he understood the value in making people laugh, something he would weave intelligently into his political life. “It is often useful to give the slight impression that you are deliberately pretending not to know what is going on because the reality may be that you don’t know what is going on, but people won’t be able to tell the difference.” said Johnson on the matter.
From his time in Oxford University, Johnson took himself almost comically seriously, surrounding himself with political idols such as a bust of Pericles, the so called ‘father of democracy’. Whilst this is somewhat fitting given the former Prime Minister’s repeated belief in respecting the will of the British people regarding the 2016 Brexit Referendum, it may raise eyebrows to those remembering his plans to unlawfully prorogue parliament for five weeks.
Whilst trying to get elected for the Oxford Union after a defeat in his first attempt, Johnson learned the value of pragmatism. He disguised his Tory tendencies under a veneer of centrism and softened politics, learning that pure comedy alone was not enough to earn a majority vote; he had to be politically appealing also. This forms the shape of the Johnson we see in today’s landscape, a jester with an odd charisma yet a keenly political mind underneath it all.
This campaign proved to be quite the turning point for Boris as here he learned perhaps his most valuable asset; a unique ability to act as a political chameleon. “Unlike the Conservatives which were really aristocratic […] the SDP welcomed people into the party if you were smart, and Boris thought that this was the best way for him to get elected” said Frank Luntz, a fellow Oxford contemporary of Johnson and current communications consultant. Johnson found that his personal political leanings didn’t matter nearly as much as what he said he was representing, with the charm to back up and sidestep any questions into his integrity.
Notoriously, Johnson wrote two versions of his column for The Telegraph, one (which was published) supporting Brexit and another (which was not published) vehemently against it. As somebody with a proven track record of supporting Remain, this cast light on Johnson’s ability to side not necessarily how he felt in his heart, but what he believed would help his own political career.
One of the more insightful opinions on Johnson’s character (both as the content of the man and the character he plays) came from Conrad Black, the ex-owner of the Daily Telegraph, who referred to Johnson as a “sly fox disguised as a teddy bear”. This is perhaps the perfect lens through which to view Johnson’s political career if you believe that there is more to him that what presents. Boris’ public image is harmless and quite endearing, allowing him a unique ability to rid himself of controversy like water off of a duck’s back.
Ian Hislop, the host of Have I Got News For You and the editor of The Private Eye, believes Boris to have a unique core to his charm. “What Boris does is make people feel good” said Hislop, and indeed Johnson does have a quality of making it all feel winnable. This may have been his greatest genuine appeal during the 2019 election which he won with such overwhelming dominance. Whilst all of the other politicians were playing the same old political highlights, calling for integrity and making no secret about the great hardship to come with Brexit and the economy, Boris was instead playing an entirely new game; one that centred upon making people “feel good” with such unflappable confidence and passion for Brexit that it felt hard not to rally behind him when contrasted in interviews to his opponents.
Even the fact that he is, in politics, referred to by his first name rather than his surname plays towards the harmless and noticeably unofficial way in which Johnson markets himself. Nobody but those close to him refer to Tony Blair as just “Tony”, or even to David Cameron as “Dave” despite both of their best efforts to brand themselves as personable, regular people. Yet Boris, without much visible political genius, is able to perfectly style himself in the public eye that even now, as a politician who has fallen out of favour with the public, he is still Boris rather than Mr Johnson.
Boris’ casual appeal is something he has turned into a political weapon, appearing on several episodes of Have I Got News For You alongside an Eastenders cameo. Even in his relative shunning from the limelight, a not insignificant portion of the Conservative party want to bring Boris back to party leadership as they struggle to find election-winning strategies. The Boris Johnson celebrity is one that continues to find broad appeal, even if kept in the back pocket for now. The very fact that there are calls to Bring Back Boris is testament to the fact that the man has managed to make himself, in certain circles, genuinely popular post-resignation, a rare feat for Prime Ministers.
It’s hard to know where Boris Johnson will end up. Perhaps all of his political climbing, his carefully crafted character which served him from his time in Britain’s finest education bodies to the top of the political ladder will be enough for him. Perhaps we’ll see him step back from life atop the hill, retiring himself to his tennis and classics. It’s possible, though, that social climbing is just in Johnson’s nature at this point. Maybe Johnson will return to politics sooner than many would like to see, desperate for another crack at being king of the world once again.
Bibliography
Browning, O. (2022, July 11). Boris Johnson ‘dreamt of being world king’, sister Rachel recalls as she defends PM. Retrieved from The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/boris-johnson-sister-prime-minister-b2120421.html
Demianyk, G. (2016, June 23). Boris Johnson Admits Writing Second Telegraph Column Backing 'Remain'. Retrieved from Huffington Post: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/boris-johnson-column-back-remain_uk_576b9119e4b0b1f1704fea34
Dower, J. (Director). (2009). When Boris Met Dave [Motion Picture].
Elgot, J. (2019, August 28). What is prorogation and why is Boris Johnson using it? Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/28/what-is-prorogation-prorogue-parliament-boris-johnson-brexit
Johnson, B. (2013, March 25). Boris Johnson: The Irresistable Rise. (M. Cockerall, Interviewer)
The Hound. (2023, January 4). Is the Tory-right trying to bring back Boris? Retrieved from Reaction: https://reaction.life/is-the-tory-right-trying-to-bring-back-boris/
Wilkinson, D. (2022, July 7). The 11 scandals that led to Boris Johnson's downfall - from 'Partygate' to Barnard Castle. Retrieved from Evening Chronicle: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/uk-news/scandals-boris-johnsons-barnard-castle-24423779
Reflection
It must be said that the greatest challenge I’ve faced in writing this piece is sticking to a fitting style. I am not somebody used to writing in the style of a journalistic backgrounder, taking a somewhat similar style in my personal writing but for a wildly different purpose. However, after writing a full dissertation piece immediately before this, I would oftentimes find myself slipping straight back into the style of a piece of academic literature. I would wrap myself up in terminology or argumentation and completely lose any casual appeal when writing, constantly having to rephrase paragraphs so as not to come across as analytical but informative.
In overcoming this challenge, I found myself often referring to other backgrounder pieces and analysing their style. By picking apart what a paragraph aims to do and with what tone it aims to do so, I found myself better able to transpose this style onto my own writing. Here I learned the necessity of telling a story and engaging the reader rather than simply weighing them down with information and political analysis. I found this easier when writing an introduction and conclusion to the piece, which were typically sparser in terms of information due to their nature as bookends to the piece.
If I had conducted the interviews used in Boris Johnson: The Irresistible Rise my biggest consideration would have been why Johnson had agreed to do such a series of interviews in the first place. Johnson is somebody who has proven to be cautiously aware of his media appearance, notably ducking an Andrew Neil interview after all of his competition had been scrutinised on air. If Johnson had agreed to do a series of interviews on his rise, he must clearly believe that it benefits him majorly in some way or another. My job as a journalist would then be to ask him questions he may not like to be asked, and may be in public interest to know the answers to. This should not be a Boris Johnson propaganda piece but instead an honest look into the ascent of one of Britain’s most famous (or infamous) politicians, complete with the opportunity to address all of the scandals for which he is so well known.
Likewise, however, I must be sure to not let this become a piece of ‘gotcha’ journalism. As much as it is important to not let Johnson warp the interviews into something more useful for him than the public, I must take considerations not to phrase my questions disingenuously to the subject. Along these lines, it is also important to be sure as to the motives of the other figures interviewed, not just Johnson himself. What purpose do these people have in speaking to me about Johnson? Are they simply political figures like Ian Hislop who may take this interview purely to fulfil a curiosity? Or do they have a somewhat more politically motivated aim to speak to a Johnson failure or success?
Written as part of a Politics and International Relations degree Journalism module at UEA, 2023
Thie image file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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