Boris 2.0!

How about some distraction from the sad passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Republican Party’s distasteful glee in anticipation of transforming SCOTUS into a 6-3 conservative majority? Perhaps a little light reading? 

Let’s take a look at the other side of the pond to see how they’re faring!

Check out hilarious Guardian Opinion piece (Weblink below) by Marina Hyde comparing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to a “Thames whale stranded at Westminster” - an insult to whales? 

English Lit majors will be delighted by Marina’s references to no less than three Shakespearean plays: Hamlet, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry V, maybe even Henry IV!  

The UK as a Cautionary Tale

I named this blog Boris 2.0 because I did a BoJo story way back in 2016 (Weblink below) at the time of the disastrous Brexit vote. The question I raised then must be asked again: how could an apparently sane population like that of the UK take leave of its senses, not once but twice? Perhaps this should be mandatory study for history students. 

The UK’s bouts with insanity took place when they voted for Brexit and when they doubled down and elected the Tories with Johnson as the party’s fearless leader. As a cautionary tale, it has few parallels (besides the US, of course, and perhaps India!)

Outright Lies

As a journalist, BoJo wrote outright lies and “Euromyths” to further his career. As Mayor, he delegated responsibilities to others, whilst he engaged in expensive vanity projects. 

I remember what a huge fuss the WB/IFC made about him at the annual conferences organised with the Financial Times. He was this rotund, jokey, prankish, bicycle-riding London Mayor, so refreshing, so accessible, so not hoity-toity! 

But, as Foreign Secretary, things began to unravel! Many in government were alarmed! He was a liability and a security risk, they feared. 

As Prime Minister, however, he is usually considered the worst man for the job at the worst possible time! 

Also, anyone who says he can’t live on 150 grand a year deserves a slap or two! (As they say in India: “I’ll give you two slaps!”)

Sense of Entitlement 

Like Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Johnson’s sense of entitlement (beyond what he regards as his god-given right to be PM) extends to an unwavering belief that he’s entitled to do as little as possible and, when things go wrong, to blame the British public!

His ambition to be PM is a lesson for all those who fell for his japes, empty charms, and (to borrow a Marina term), his “WTF-ery!” 

He never had the work ethic and discipline for the top job. He wanted to “become” PM, more than "be" PM! (Sounds familiar to us Stateside, doesn’t it?) 

I wonder if there is a degree of malice behind the bumbling Falstaffian “jolly chap” facade. Was the geniality he liked to project as Mayor a cover for a ruthless political operator? 

 

No deal Brexit

He seems ready to inflict serious damage on the country by adding “no deal Brexit” to the carnage of the pandemic. An abrupt exit from the EU could bring real shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.

Is Brexit unsolvable? Are we looking at the dissolution of the UK in this decade? Will Ireland unite? Will Scotland depart?

Admirer of Greek Classics 

As an admirer of Ancient Greece, BoJo - they say - is a huge fan of Greek tragedy and embodies Tantalus, Narcissus, and Sisyphus!

If you remember your Greek myth, Tantalus was made to stand in a pool of water under a low-hanging fruit tree with both the fruit and the water forever evading his grasp! 

Sisyphus was forced to eternally roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll down every time it reached the top! 

And Narcissus, obsessed with his own image reflected in a pool of water, died of unrequited love for himself!  

The similarities to BoJo are stunning: an out-of-his-depth ditherer operating in his own amoral bubble, ruined by his hubris at a time of national crisis!  

2020 as an Epoch-Defining Decade 

If you think 2020 is a stinker (the pandemic, monstrous forest fires, gigantic ice shelves melting in Antarctica), wait and see! It is the opening salvo to what could be an epoch-defining decade with more catastrophe to come!  

So, folks, look for more BoJo shenanigans! They’re a break from the humdrum and the banal! If it weren’t so tragic, it might even be funny!  

Clown or Villain?

In the article, Marina wonders if Johnson can “move from history back to comedy.” Sure he can! Boris doesn't do serious; for him, everything is a “bit of a laff,” to quote comedian Ricky Gervais! 

With all the scheming and backstabbing he did to get to the top, I’m wondering if Richard III may be a better comparison than Falstaff? Nah! I prefer the bumbling fool to the debased villain!  

Ludi Joseph

Washington, D.C.

September 22, 2020

Guardian Opinion by Marina Hyde, September 22, 2020: 

Like a Thames whale, Boris Johnson has got stranded at Westminster

 

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/22/boris-johnson-westminster-thames

http://luditravel.blogspot.com/2016/06/why-brexit-observations-from-former-eu_5.html