22 February 2016

Johnson

Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya!
In England we have a right wing politician called Alexander Boris de Pfeffel  Johnson or "Boris" for short. He was born in America and spent his privileged school years at Eton before moving on to Balliol  College, Oxford where he gained an upper second class degree in Classics. He played rugger and was also a member of the notorious and exclusively upper class drinking and dining society - The Bullingdon Club.

For some reason that I cannot figure out, the British media have put Johnson on a pedestal. We are led to believe that he has "character" and voter appeal with his unruly mop of white-blonde hair and his over-excited misuse of the English language.  Some say he is destined to be our next prime minister. In my opinion, he has been given and continues to receive far too much airtime. It is as if the media have made him.

In 2008, Johnson became the elected Mayor of London. On the face of it, you would imagine that in leading the governance of one of the world's major cities he would have more than enough on his plate. Twenty four hours a day and seven days a week would surely never be enough to get everything done.

But no! In May 2015, Johnson became the Conservative MP for  Uxbridge and South Ruislip - representing more than 72,000 electors in parliament and presumably dealing with his constituents' endless issues. And this is what I don't get - How can somebody be both Mayor of London and an MP? To do both jobs effectively is surely impossible.

On Sunday, the media scrum were waiting outside Johnson's West London townhouse to find out which camp he intended to join ahead of Britain's European Union referendum to be held on June 23rd. In or out? Johnson announced he would join the "out" campaign. 

It was in that moment that my vote was suddenly magnetised towards the "in" box - despite my many instinctive misgivings about what Brussels and Strasbourg have done to our country in the  name of European unity.

27 comments:

  1. I think you rather miss the point. This is not an election but a chance to decide on the countries and your children's future. What has Boris got to do with anything?

    On a lighter note I was surprised to find you supporting In. Hull City will never be in Europe.

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    1. If a buffoon like Johnson - along with the odious Iain Duncan-Smith are saying "out" then "in" looks more attractive. By the way Hull City have already been in The Europa Cup! So there!

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  2. It's just one big spin doctored con, they throw in an Asian female, that's the male Muslim vote and the closet racists gone, mr gove, the teachers and anyone he's ever grinned at gone , ids that's the welfare vote gone , now they've chucked in boris just to scare any sentient human being away. Sorry not falling for it , but many will

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    1. Ah, not I get it Kate. It is all a cunning plan. In secret Downing Street talks, Johnson agreed to join the "No" camp as it was judged that his support would guarantee that the "Stay In" camp win in the end! Very clever.

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  3. Buffoon or not, YP, the media love him (well, let's face it, they love any idiot who will give them a laugh or two) and it would seem that his electorate - as both Mayor, and an MP, also love him. In each case perhaps the alternative was too horrifying to contemplate. Like the thought of Corbyn as future PM - or Trump as U.S. President.
    Agree with Adrian that Boris should have nothing to do with your decision on how you vote.

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    1. I think that Adrian is heavily influenced by his idol - David Cameron and even has his image sprayed on the back his camper van. He has The Queen and Prince Philip on the sides and Nicola Sturgeon on the front.

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    2. I think you are dreaming. I would vote out and send the Royal family back to Germany. I don't even know what a Saxe Hamburger is but it sounds German.

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    3. What, Nicola draped tastefully over the bonnet? Does Rachel know?

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  4. It's a complicated issue you are being asked to vote on.

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    1. Distilling it all down to one simple question seems wrong to me. There should be a bunch of questions to vote on.

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  5. Born in the US? Could he be Trump's illegitimate brother?

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    1. That seems very possible Jan. Look at the hair!

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  6. It's not for me to comment on this. I believe I don't have the right to do so.

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    1. As a European citizen I hereby confer upon you the right to comment Lee.

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    2. Well, if you vote for exit, YP, you'll no longer be a European citizen. Just plain old British (again) and therefore have no say in European matters, something which may well be to the detriment of the future prosperity of the UK.

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    3. "May" being the operative word CG. Nobody really knows...do they?

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  7. This has been all over the news here, too. And like Jan, I seem to be not the only one to detect a similarity between him and Donald Trump.

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    1. Of course Trump's paternal grandparents were German! If he fails to become the next US President perhaps he could take over from Mrs Merkel as Germany's next Chancellor.

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    2. Trump is your God CG?

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  8. The British public quite like their politicians to be buffoons and the likes of Call Me Dave/Tony are just too clever by half. But why the media should think his views on anything is in any way representative is beyond me. Boris is no better than Jacob Rees-Mogg, 'the honourable member for the early 20th century'.

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    1. Jacob Rees-Mogg? Wasn't he the lead singer for that post punk group Warriors of Lechery?

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  9. I didn't even know that Johnson is an MP in addition to being mayor. How is that possible?! It was interesting the way the media branded his Brexit opinion such a momentous announcement. I suppose he does have his following, but still -- he's just one guy.

    Brexit as a whole seems a bad idea to me -- together always seems stronger than going it alone. But then again, I'm an immigrant, so what do I know? :)

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    1. As Bob Dylan once sang, "I pity the poor immigrant".

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  10. I must say I had a very similar feeling.

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    1. You mean you are not a Boris Babe Mrs Weaver? That is hard to believe.

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  11. I've been sitting here in the sun and 30℃ temperature and thinking of ll sorts of (hopefully) erudite and constructive comments but frankly the whole scenario of world and UK politics scares the shit out of me at the moment. The pool is looking very inviiting. No.I'm not going to end it all. I'm just going to have a swim and ignore everything for the moment: particularly BJ and Trump.

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