Boris likes to compare himself with Pericles and Churchill. Pericles the great Athenian leader, who caught the plague and died in the middle of a war, and Winston Churchill, another great leader, one who did not die during a war. However every so often I consider Boris to be more like Alkabiades, a chancer who led the people for his own advantage, and the great Victorian Prime Minister Lord Palmerston.
Palmerston, an Irish Lord and thus able to sit in the 'House,' was a very hard woring tough man. He was also devious, a womaniser and as such Queen Victoria would not let him in the house. I see this man, while hard working and efficient unlike Johnson, more the man Boris copies. He had little in the way of morals bar 'Me first,' and his desire to make use of one of the queens 'Ladies in waiting' against her wishes and while resident at Balmoral with the queen in residence did not go down to well with those around him. He was 55 at the time, she 22 and unwilling!
His scandals, and they were many and well reported, made him popular with the people. The more the queen objected the more he was liked. Something about Boris gets a similar response. His morals are non existent, his plan similar, yet his cunning gets him into a position of power, his popularity soars. This gibbering wreck has not confounded people, many said he would be PM one day, the sad thing is that this has happened.
His cry today of supporting 'working class voters' reminded me of Palmerston. He spoke to a gathering of artisans indicating that these bricklayers, carpenters and plumbers could one day reach up to his level at the top of the aristocracy. Lies, all lies! He had no wish and no intention of losing the aristocratic grasp of power, indeed while he made many social changes he refused to consider a reform act and enlarge the franchise. That arrived only after Palmerston died in 1865 with Gladstone and others seeking to create such an act. Boris appeals to the workers who voted for him, he offers answers, peace and money. He claims to protect the NHS, jobs, economy and anything else forgetting that his promises get forgotten, he lies blatantly and he cares not a jot about that. Even if like Palmerston Boris gets arrested making a fuss attempting to reach one of his unwilling girlfriends, he was 80 at the time, I doubt this would hinder his popularity, indeed it might enhance it. Only once the birds come home to roost will Boris be exposed and this could take time.
