A baby in No.10: a symbol of hope?
“Less than a month ago, Boris Johnson was close to becoming the first prime minister to die in office since the Victorian era,” said Martin Kettle in The Guardian. Last week, he returned to work, and became the third prime minister of the 21st century to celebrate the birth of a new baby in No. 10. “It would require a heart of stone” not to be moved by this vertiginous ascent “from darkness into light”. The Prime Minister’s “trials, tribulations and triumphs” during the pandemic have become “a metaphor for the nation’s struggles”, said The Daily Telegraph. The birth of Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds’ new son, Wilfred, is happy and cheering news. “No amount of government publicity could make the point better that life goes on and adversity can be overcome.”
It has been suggested that these momentous events will inspire the PM as a leader, said John Rentoul in The Independent, and bind him to the NHS. (The child’s middle name, Nicholas, is a tribute to the two doctors who looked after Johnson in intensive care.) Somehow I doubt it. The PM has had children before – at least five – and it seems unlikely that even these life-changing episodes will transform “wild Prince Hal into a wise and noble national leader”. Cynics have pointed out that the new arrival may, in fact, be a big distraction, said Luke Harding in The Guardian. The PM has frequently seemed “semi-engaged” during his time in charge, taking frequent trips away from Downing Street with Symonds. Former colleagues joke that “Johnson prefers to do many things badly, rather than one thing well”.
“Some politicians build a cult around their personality; others draw a veil of secrecy over their private lives,” said Andrew Woodcock in The Independent. Johnson is unusual “in that he attempts both at the same time”. He is a larger-than-life character, yet he maintains a strict division between his political and personal lives. No. 10 was tight-lipped about the birth, refusing to reveal where Wilfred was born, or whether he was premature; his name was only revealed days later. But with a baby in Downing Street – not to mention a forthcoming wedding – Johnson’s determination to maintain this separation will be pushed to the limit.