I know I’ve been quiet on the blogging front lately but I can’t hold back on this. The background to all of this, for the benefit of US readers, Boris Johnson is leading in the process of the Conservative Party selecting a new leader and Prime Minister. In my view it would be a huge mistake, and this is why…..
I remember when I first clocked Boris, in those days he had just been elected Mayor of London. He seemed a “bit of a character” and quite likeable. Even in those days he bumbled around in his conversation and was almost comical. He was very disheveled and there was a boyish charm to this. And even without knowing much about him, he seemed to bring a fresh perspective on politics as an alternative to his (somewhat bland) predecessor Ken Livingstone.
Roll forward a few years and we find him back in Parliamentary politics. He’s a Member of Parliament and has a high profile in the Brexit shenanigans. He started off by being a Remainer (as in remaining in the European Union) but then shifted to being pro-Brexit. Through all of the craziness and the twisted Brexit path, we find Teresa May has understandably come to the end of her tether and we are awaiting a new Prime Minister. The process has quickly whittled the candidates down to Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, aka BoJo.
Reason #1 why Boris is unfit to be Prime Minister – he breaks his promises
He has been unfaithful to his wife. Quite simply if he can’t be trusted to respect his wife and to keep the promises he would have made in getting married, why can we trust him as Prime Minister?
Of course for many these days, marital fidelity is of little importance. This is a serious mistake along with his string of wives, girlfriends etc. This undermines the pattern of society, not to mention he is rebelling against God.
Reason #2 why Boris is unfit to be Prime Minister – he lies
He lies. We have the now infamous case of him telling everyone the NHS would gain £350Million as one of the benefits of Brexit. He narrowly avoided prosecution over this and comes across as a person who is prepared to lie, be untrustworthy and this is another strong reason why we cannot have him as Prime Minister.
Reason #3 why Boris is unfit to be Prime Minister – he’s an embarrassment
Diplomacy. Specifically international diplomacy. Again, I think his track record has shown how he cannot be trusted in terms of being diplomatic. A shame really as the British diplomacy has served us well over the years and has gained us considerable respect as a solid world player.
Mind you, just think of Donald Trump and what and embarrassment he has become to the American people, often the laughing stock of polite English society. Boris is heading that way and the combination of a Trump/Johnson occupying such high offices makes me shudder with dread.
Reason #4 why Boris is unfit to be Prime Minister – he’d ignore the negotiations to date
It appears there have been months of careful negotiations with the EU. It seems he is prepared to brush this aside in his reckless “do or die” approach. This is serious stuff and he seems to have such a casual, flippant attitude towards the fate of the economy, jobs, people’s well being and so on.
But then, as someone who is already well healed, why should he be concerned? He has already said he will lower taxes for the wealthy and gosh, what a huge mistake that would be. Knowing his Etonian background and all this entails, why should we be surprised?
As things stand it looks highly likely he will become leader of the Conservatives. If this happens it is normal convention that he would become the Prime Minister. I shudder to think of how awful this could be for us as a country; it could take us decades to recover from such a foolish position to be in.
Hi Doug. How many children have you? Simple enough question, I’d have thought. Not exactly pushing the limits of personal space. And something we might wish to know about the person leading the country, for example.
But try getting an answer on that in regards Mr. Johnson. OK, some would say “none of your business” and “not relevant to leadership”. But it is relevant when it goes to the matter of trust and integrity, particularly when it is the character of a person that we are being asked to judge them by.
Of greatest concern to me are his history as London mayor with so much money wasted on grandiose ideas ( think water cannons, garden bridge etc..); his complete lack of diplomacy and political correctness (think letterboxes and water melons); his reputation as a liar ( think sacking by Michael Howard); his reputation as a cheat ( think sacking by The Times); his incompetence as Foreign Secretary and failure to read his briefings properly ( think Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe); and that’s without even mentioning those aspects of his private life which make his suitability questionable. There is room in society for loveable buffoons ( not my description) but not in our highest office.