So can Boris ever become Prime Minister now?
Are we becoming more forgiving of politicians Rohsoawho cphreinatc? e unpicks the aftermath of the politician’s alleged affair – and what this could mean for his grand ambitions…
AS ONE OF THE chief architects of Brexit, Boris Johnson doesn’t have a great deal of good to say about Europe. But as he surveys the acres of news print devoted to his chaotic love life last week, he might be forgiven for wishing the British public took a rather more Continental attitude to the private affairs of their politicians.
Because Boris’s personal life has hit the headlines again, just as, if rumours are to be believed, he is preparing to launch yet another assault on Theresa May’s leadership.
This time the flamboyant former foreign secretary has gone too far for his wife of 25 years, lawyer Marina Wheeler. She is said to be divorcing him over his alleged relationship with 30-year-old Carrie Symonds, a former Tory media chief.
It is not the first time Marina has kicked her husband out of the marital home, nor is it the only time Boris has strayed. There is speculation he may have had as many as 10 affairs during his marriage, getting at least two girlfriends pregnant.
But while his tomcat ways must be highly unpleasant for his family, is
Boris’s turbo-charged sex drive any business of the rest of us? That is the question Johnson’s supporters are asking themselves as they consider whether his dream of becoming PM remains alive.
A poll last week found 64% of voters agreed Boris’s indiscretions did not make him unfit to lead; 46% said politicians should not be judged on their private conduct. Unfortunately for Boris it won’t only be up to the public. To become Prime Minister, Boris needs the support of his fellow MPS, who take a far dimmer view than voters of his recent behaviour. It’s not that MPS are more moralistic than the average voter, but talk to the dwindling number of friends of Boris in Parliament and they describe the attention he attracts over his private life as a distraction.
‘I remember being at a party and Marina [then his soon-to-be wife] asked me what I really thought of Boris,’ says Sonia Purnell, Just author Borroisf: A Tale Of Blond A, wmhboi twioonrked alongside him in Brussels in the ’80s. ‘I told her I thought he was the most ruthless person I’ve ever met. She obviously didn’t take my advice. That was more than 25 years ago and I have still never met anyone like him – someone with such sheer focus on self-advancement.’
Purnell believes his impending marital breakdown might have contributed to him not fully concentrating on his job, most notably when he made a gaffe about Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe, the 39-year-old mother in jail in Iran, teaching journalism. (She was actually working for a charity but the Iranian authorities seized upon this to claim she was a spy.) ‘He clearly had too much on his mind. It shows that really he’s not thinking what’s best for the country; rather what’s best for Boris.’ Purnell also believes that Boris’s band of followers is diminishing. ‘I think the public are starting to see through him – he was booed by spectators when he was at the Oval watching cricket last week.’ So will he ever make it as PM? ‘He’s not competent, he’s not trustworthy. However, when it comes to Boris Johnson, you can never say never.’
HE’S THINKING WHAT’S BEST FOR BORIS, NOT THE COUNTRY