It is hard to know what Mr Johnson is up to. Is he simply a loose cannon? Is he staunchly defending his vision of a hard Brexit? Is he angling to be fired and so be well clear when the Brexshit hits the fan? Or is he trying to place himself in pole position as Mrs May's replacement?
In a recent poll of Tory members he was top pick as the new leader (23%), and he has made various not-so-subtle hints that his ambition is Number 10.
This is the man who betrayed his wife and then lied to her and to his party. The man who paid for an abortion for his mistress while complaining the bill was too high and suggesting she blame someone else for the pregnancy.
So he got a girl in trouble and when he realised the cost tried to avoid his responsibilities.
He has already got our own Britannia into serious trouble, and is lying about the cost. If he becomes leader of the Conservative Party then there is no doubt that Mrs May will be his preferred scapegoat. However it is us who will pay the bill.
His recent antics, including a 'joke' about clearing corpses from a resort, have made him very unpopular with senior Tories. Of course, Mr Trump is proof that that is not necessarily a bar to the top job.
The real problem is that none of the other candidates for leader have what it takes either. Too old, too young, too staid, too inexperienced. Mr Johnson's strength is that he is a populist, able to work a crowd.
Of course, there is another possibility, far more serious and a proven successful leader, soundly beating Labour in the 2016 election. Unfortunately she is not eligible as she does not have a seat in Westminster. However Ms Davidson has led the Scottish Conservatives for five years. There is no sensible reason that she is barred from leading the party nationally, it would only require a simple rule change to make her eligible.
It's that or we risk joining the US in singing "Send in the Clowns".
No comments:
Post a Comment