Boris Johnson: Fast and Furious, Reasoned and Smart

He did inhale. London mayor Boris Johnson did, being – in his own words – no stranger to cannabis. He also argued, in one of many silly moments, that if gay marriage was ok, there should be no reason not to consecrate a union between three men and a dog. Mr Johnson since has become much more gay-friendly.

Boris Johnson thoroughly enjoys rocking the politically correct establishment with shocking statements. He is also a well-known flip-flopper. Just after the 7/7 bombings, Mr Johnson declared Islam to be “the most viciously sectarian of all religions in its heartlessness to unbelievers.” Three years later he boldly urged all people to study Islam, join Muslim neighbours in fasting, and visit the local mosque: “You’ll find Islam to be a religion of peace with which you may share many values.”

At times, Mr Johnson can also display his severe lack of sensibility to the plight of those less fortunate as when he commented that the £250,000 annual income he derives from his columns in The Daily Telegraph were “chicken feed.” Mayor Johnson went on to explain that he writes his weekly columns “very fast” in between other Sunday morning activities. The income from his side job is roughly equal to ten times the annual take-home pay of an average British worker.

“He unfailingly gauges popular sentiment, governs his metropolis with great care, and tackles thorny political issues head-on.”

Still, Boris Johnson is nothing short of brilliant and very much in touch with the times. He unfailingly gauges popular sentiment, governs his metropolis with great care, and tackles thorny political issues head-on. This mayor is not one to avoid the inevitable or, indeed, accept political impossibilities. He speaks his mind and voters across nearly all demographics appreciate the attitude re-electing him for a second term in 2012.

With his trademark unruly appearance, Mayor Johnson exudes a can-do spirit often found lacking in British politics where it sometimes seems that muddling-on has been elevated to an art form. He proved an exceptionally able public administrator hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, widely perceived to have been the most perfect of major events ever. He also reinvigorated London’s aging public transport network with countless out-of-the-box initiatives that increased efficiency, reduced cost and improved service.

Fluent in Latin and well-versed in the classics, Mr Johnson has joyfully injected London city politics, and by extension national politics, with a phraseology previously unheard. During a clash with the London Assembly over the city’s budget, in February 2013, the mayor ended up being expelled from the meeting over a technicality.

Realising that his political foes had made a rather dumb mistake since his budget could now not be questioned, he referred to his hapless political foes as “great supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies.” It is well-neigh impossible not to like a guy who can instantly come up with such a description.

The last of Boris Johnson has not been heard yet. In fact, it doesn’t require the insight of a pundit to foresee a bright future for Boris Johnson. British politics could possibly benefit from a combination of administrative excellence and irreverence.

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