Whatever Londoners might think of Boris Johnson at the moment, he is certainly ticking all the right boxes here in the US, where the penchant for the bumbling, foppish British stereotype is as persistent as ever. According to the New York Times, Johnson is a welcome respite from our recent slew of ”gray, chronically self-editing politicians.” Step aside Reverend Blair and Mme Thatcher, Boris is the real deal; and they’ve even found an “authentic British voice” to tell us why:
“He bumbles a lot, but he’s a lot cleverer than you think,” said Lizzie Vines, a 50-year-old Devon farmer. “It’s a very British thing to do, to pretend to be stupid when you’re not.”
Vine added that she admired his honesty. What about his adultery, in that case?
“Cheating on your wife? That’s a very British thing to do, too.”
Well done the NYT. Self deprecation is a worthy habit. Boris being buffoonish is just a well-mannered, centuries old way of putting others, especially the less intelligent, at their ease ( naturally, this is not a trait our ever tedious class-warrior Brits approve of )
It is not just British husbands that ‘cheat’. As a gynaecologist chum points out ( re. DNA child / parent data ) just as many British women ‘cheat’ on their husbands , but with a gimlet eye on the house and alimony are more cunning about possible detection
There is a theory that people who take a keen interest in the sex
lives of others are generally people with no sex lives of their own
Perhaps the ideal will be when the idle if perverted hacks of the British Press take a leaf out of the Guide Michelin, stop boring the public to tears about other peoples private lives, and instead get on with the job of reporting the bigger picture ?
Bravo NYT, and kudos to the people of the USA, who are showing exceptional good taste.
They are quite right, Boris is a breath of fresh air, it’s wonderful to find a politician who still knows what he thinks, let alone has the courage to voice his opinion, and in this age of ‘photo opportunities’ and ’sound bites’, it’s wonderful to find somebody so unaffected and natural.
In reality, Boris is far from a buffoon, he has a razor sharp wit and intelligence, he is also extremely down to earth and practical.
Lets just hope he gets the Mayoralty, and can start to make London a place worth visiting (or living in) once again!