Politics

This old quote from Boris Johnson feels very relevant right now

This old quote from Boris Johnson feels very relevant right now
Alistair Campbell likens Boris Johnson to 'turd you can't flush away'
BBC

We’re not quite sure how we got back here, but Boris Johnson is reportedly set to run for Prime Minister once again.

It was just a matter of weeks ago that Johnson stood outside Number 10 and told the nation “them’s the breaks” and informed them he would be leaving under the weight of numerous scandals.

Now, after the laughably short time Truss endured as PM, he’s said to be running in the hastily organised leadership race.

The Times has reported it has been told the 58-year-old is expected to stand, despite the fact he still faces an inquiry into whether he misled parliament over Partygate.

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There’s all sorts of chatter about the news online, and some are returning to a column Johnson wrote back in 2011 which feels more timely than ever right now.

Back then, Johnson was writing about the Labour government led by Gordon Brown.

Comparing Brown to Muammar al-Gaddafi, Johnson wrote in the Telegraph: “When a regime has been in power too long, when it has fatally exhausted the patience of the people, and when oblivion finally beckons – I am afraid that across the world you can rely on the leaders of that regime to act solely in the interests of self-preservation, and not in the interests of the electorate.”

With the Tories teetering after 12 years in power, and with Labour way ahead in the polls, it seems more prescient than ever.


Emily Maitlis recently gave her thoughts on the situation surrounding the embarrassingly short time in office enjoyed by Truss – suggesting that Johnson could have planned for this particular set of circumstances.

Maitlis took to Twitter to write: “Worth considering this could be exactly the end game Boris Johnson had in mind when he endorsed a weak candidate he could see would quickly and irredeemably fail.

“Whilst it may look like a shambles from the outside, it might just have been playbook politics…”

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