Goodbye to the Nominally Conservative Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson’s bumbling Bertie Wooster act helped him transcend political drudgery and become a bona fide comedy celebrity. His amusing columns in the Daily Telegraph and his many appearances on popular shows such as Have I Got News for You enabled him to win two terms as mayor (a largely ceremonial post) of the devoutly left-wing London. Perhaps he’ll go down in history as the last Conservative to do so.

Winning over London marked Boris as a new kind of Tory, the only one of whom even stern Guardianistas would concede, “Oh, but he does make me laugh.” Getting stuck hilariously in that zip line, waving his two little Union Jacks, while promoting the 2012 London Olympics, provided the country with an indelible image and reference point. Who could hate such a harmless buffoon? The many instances in which Johnson had exaggerated the truth by providing sensational reports about the latest European Union outrages, such as when he claimed the Eurocrats were out to force fishermen to wear hairnets or ban prawn cocktail crisps, were indulged as part of the fun. Even Johnson’s notorious mistreatment of his first two wives and his open infidelity, in the context of a country where taking note of such misbehavior is seen as “American-style moralizing,” were waved away.

About the Author

Kyle Smith

Kyle Smith is the film critic for the Wall Street Journal.

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Boris Johnson’s bumbling Bertie Wooster act helped him transcend political drudgery and become a bona fide comedy celebrity. His amusing columns in the Daily Telegraph and his many appearances on popular shows such as Have I Got News for You enabled him to win two terms as mayor (a largely ceremonial post) of the devoutly left-wing London. Perhaps he’ll go down in history as the last Conservative to do so.

Winning over London marked Boris as a new kind of Tory, the only one of whom even stern Guardianistas would concede, “Oh, but he does make me laugh.” Getting stuck hilariously in that zip line, waving his two little Union Jacks, while promoting the 2012 London Olympics, provided the country with an indelible image and reference point. Who could hate such a harmless buffoon? The many instances in which Johnson had exaggerated the truth by providing sensational reports about the latest European Union outrages, such as when he claimed the Eurocrats were out to force fishermen to wear hairnets or ban prawn cocktail crisps, were indulged as part of the fun. Even Johnson’s notorious mistreatment of his first two wives and his open infidelity, in the context of a country where taking note of such misbehavior is seen as “American-style moralizing,” were waved away.