Revive the old Boris and he may survive
HE’D BEEN on the road for more than a week and not slept in his own bed for nine days. He’d chatted at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Kigali, bonded in Bavaria with his fellow G7 leaders and here he was at the end of the final day of the Nato summit in Madrid.
And ours was to be the very last appointment on his packed schedule before he boarded the Prime Ministerial jet for the flight home to London.
It was hardly surprising then that Boris Johnson appeared a little tired as we started the interview.
Questions about the war in Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis and potential tax cuts were batted back with the usual corrections of any assertion that the Government had done anything wrong accompanied by the trumpeting of achievement after achievement by his administration.
Yes, unfortunately for me the Prime Minister was in full-on serious mode.
And after summits, bi-laterals and joint briefings with the likes of Biden, Macron and von der Leyen, who could honestly blame him.
Having interviewed him more times than either of us can remember, dating back to the time before he was Mayor of London some 14 years ago, I was acutely aware that a more relaxed and brighter Boris made for a far, far better interview.
So what to do?
It was time to rip up the playbook and go for a more risky option – make the PM the butt of the gag and wait for his response. It had worked well before, but would it this time, with a weary Boris..?
“Prime Minister, you’ve lost two by-elections – one in a previously very safe Conservative seat – and a party chairman while you’ve been out of the country. Indeed, you’ve been away from England longer than Lord Lucan, so...” was all I got out before Boris bit back.
“That’s nonsense Nick, and by the way, how can you be so sure Lord Lucan isn’t actually in England now! You seem to possibly possess some insider knowledge,” responded the PM.
Warming to his theme, he instantly went on: “I think we have a right to know what you know Ferrari.
“Come on, you clearly know something.this is all rather suspicious.”
And suddenly, it was as if I was interviewing a different man. As the onlookers, comprising my producer, camerawoman and a team of about nine from the PM’S office laughed at the absurdity of his claim, Boris relaxed into the interview... and excelled. If he were
a batsman, it would have been like hitting a six after being pegged back for no score for three overs.
For a footballer, it would be scoring with a bicycle kick from the edge of the penalty box when he’d been struggling all game to complete a forward pass.
His answers went from rehearsed and robotic to providing genuine insight, as he became candid and unafraid of saying anything that might upset anyone or deemed to be veering “off message”.
And truthfully, isn’t that why much of Britain voted for Boris?
Few would have chosen him if they were looking for a safe, standardised, typical politician. He doesn’t do that.
His personality is the size of a fullygrown rhino and he has a hide to match.
He does the unforgivable, but is always forgiven. From sending small children crashing to the ground in a rugby game, to falling into a river in Lewisham and getting stuck on a zip
wire, Boris has a unique touchstone with much of the public.
Stupidly, he’s lost much of that stock with his reckless style of management at Number 10 during lockdown.
For many that was – understandably – beyond the pale.
They argue that far from being able to boast he can still be an election winner, his brand has become toxic.
Instead of getting ahead of the story when it first broke and conceding he’d been a fool and was truly sorry, he behaved like a recalcitrant teenager who had to have every begrudging confession dragged out of him.
Now is the time for him to bring back the inner Boris. The fearless, anti-woke champion of the Conservative creed, rather than a green-obsessed, eco-zealot who seems to sanction tax rises at almost every opportunity.
That’s what made him a winner in the first place – and can do so again.