Wednesday 2 May 2012

A one man political tribe

Boris Johnson is doing something quite special in London - he's managed to stage a come back for the traditional Tory Patrician politician - and subtly reminded us that the pragmatic "right" (if we must assign labels) always manages to seem more versatile and human - avuncular, even - than the narrowly dogmatic and tiresomely tribal left. The resilience of Boris against the national Tory trend must also be putting the wind up Cameron and Osborne.

It does no harm that Boris is not perceived as part of any sort of "act" other than his eponymous one-man brand. I'll bet many Londoners don't know or care which political party he (notionally) belongs to. The fact that he probably doesn't "need" the salary or a clique of courtiers, but Livingstone does, is a further encouragement.

Boris is a once in a generation politician that only needs his first name on a ballot paper. All else is superfluous. He gets all the glory and all the blame - and thanks to his rakish charm, he is able to chase away detractors and problems with an affable ease that must have Cameron and Osborne in tears at times like these.

He is, in effect, his very own tribe. All the more so if you include his lookalike and manner-alike father, Stanley. Indeed, all the rest of Johnsons only manage to enhance the Boris brand.

Lock up your rodents!
Boris' top "trick" is as old as the human race.

He has managed to parlay his manifest human frailties into both a stage act and reminder that he is human like the rest of (most) of us. When set alongside a newt-fancier so sinister that he might have come straight off the set of "V" (remember that?) Ken is having to rely on the Old Labour "Monkey with a rosette factor" to drum up support from the lost tribe.

Boris surely cannot believe his luck - and whatever the boy thinks of being so thoroughly upstaged by Mr Whiff-Waff" himself, Cameron must be able to raise a smile that the ridiculous Harriet Harman is being forced to pretend she regards Livingstone is a great choice of Labour candidate.

"Listen up sonny Jim, there'll be no sweeties for you
if you call me "daddy" again..."
This blog kicked off by praising Lord Sugar for his honesty and ability to look beyond the moronic consistency of a morally bankrupt "party line"  that allowed a piece of work like Livingstone to have another go at one of the most crucial appointments in the land.

If you want to strike a blow for the possibility of some more (relatively) apolitical politics and a really big personality who brought passion and a smile back to a dour administration - as well as annoying so many of the terminally politically correct and sanctimonious - then Vote Boris!


And if your tribal roots start twitching, remember that you won't be giving David Cameron and the hapless Gideon much comfort either. They know very well that Brand Boris can't wait for a chance to take a stab at their job. And as Jeremy Clarkson would say, "who wants to see that?"

In fact, if your inclinations are for a Labour government, then you will probably want to keep Boris busily employed as London Mayor...


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