LogFAQs > #960998393

ScazarMeltex posted...

Boris is an idiot and a buffoon

He actually really isn't, he just plays a character to his own ends.

He would never have risen as far as he has without playing to the crowd in his early days, setting himself up with the immaculately messy hair, the perfectly unkempt tie, etc. He got in the public eye and began his rise from the back benches with regular appearances on shows like Have I Got News For You because he was funny. He looked like Worzel Gummidge, he stuttered and stumbled over his words and always seemed befuddled by things. He had the charm that only a well-meaning idiot could have - he was every posh public schoolboy stereotype going, so people laughed at him. And because people laughed at him, he kept getting booked to be the comedy relief on more shows - he even presented TV footage of Glastonbury one year. He was that funny but harmless posh boy from the telly. So when he was up for re-election, then eventually mayoral election, people voted for him partly because he was the most familiar name on the ballot, and partly because it would be funny to see "good old Boris" in power. Even the fact that we all refer to him as "Boris" is a sign that he's still good at setting himself up as our pal off of TV rather than the PM.

But it's all a meticulously crafted act. There's a famous anecdote from a respected journalist about how, in the early days of Johnson's career, he was booked to be a speaker at an event. He rocked up late, looking dishevelled, flustered, and unprepared. He went up on stage, had to look at the sign behind him to remember what the event was even for, he "umm"ed and "err"ed his way through his opening remarks, then started telling an anecdote that he forgot the end of... and it went down a storm. Everyone loved it because it was a trainwreck, but a funny one, and he was so obviously an idiot that it charmed everyone, even the journalist. Everyone went away talking about how great Boris was. Years later that same journo was at another event that Boris was due to speak at. Once again, he rocked up late, looking just as dishevelled, flustered, and unprepared. He went up on stage, again had to look at the sign behind him to remember what the event was even for, he "umm"ed and "err"ed at the exact same point of his opening remarks, started to tell the exact same anecdote that he forgot the end of at the exact same point... Everything about his public persona is a carefully crafted performance designed to make Boris seem likeable, unthreatening and charming.

Think how many transgressions over the past few years have literally been waved away with the line "That's just Boris being Boris." He gets away with so much more because of the character he plays.

He's many things, but he should never be mistaken for a fool