Comments on: Friends of Boris

By: Nort

Nort — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:56:34 +0000

Surely you meant to say ‘with friends like that who needs enemas’ ?

By: Tim Newman

Tim Newman — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:30:05 +0000

There were stooges when Mr Johnson was en route to be president of the Oxford Union. He has had stooges all through journalism, who did significant parts of his various jobs for him, usually with little thanks or reward. And now there are stooges in politics.

I’m still wondering why this is considered to be a bad thing. He’d go down a storm on an oil and gas project.

By: Little Black Sambo

Little Black Sambo — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:28:13 +0000

Inattention to detail is a kind of laziness, but intellectual laziness combined with intellectual brilliance is likely to provide exciting and possibly visionary leadership, if Boris is good at selecting competent people to work for him.

By: john b

john b — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:24:42 +0000

Mao at least killed more people through incompetence than ideology. The jury’s still out on Stalin (it all depends on whether you believe dekulakisation was primarily a class-based democide or primarily a way of ensuring the availability of workers and food for industrialisation).

Pol Pot and Hitler, yup, I think they’re definitely in the competent bastard camp.

By: Kit

Kit — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:58:26 +0000

History is littered with “competent bastards” – Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Pol Pot to name a few. Give me an “incompetent charmer” any day.

By: Tristan Mills

Tristan Mills — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:44:52 +0000

My biggest frustration with Boris is that he often comes out with sensible things, but then disguises it all in buffoonery.

Take his comment about ‘picaninnies’.
Its actually spot on, the Queen probably does love the Commonwealth because it provides her with plenty of adoring, flag waiving moments. In fact, the picaninny comment could be construed as being the view taken by members of the royal family of these people rather than Boris Johnson’s view.
Unfortunately, predictably the focus was on that word rather than the point.

By: john b

john b — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:39:08 +0000

The ruthless ambition and exploitation doesn’t matter in the slightest; the man’s a politician.

But the “blinding lack of attention to detail” is a serious problem for someone who’s doing a delicate juggling act over a multi-billion pound budget.

I’d rather a competent bastard were mayor than an incompetent charmer… which is precisely why I’ll be voting Ken tomorrow.

By: dearieme

dearieme — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:04:01 +0000

But don’t many people advance in life by exploiting “stooges”? Have you ever read, for example, of any school teacher who is a pillar of the local council without thinking “what about all his school colleagues who do his work for him?”. I’ll bet the majority of Labour MPs are that type.

By: Kit

Kit — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:58:22 +0000

I like Boris because he looks uncomfortable acting the politician. Plus I can’t wait for his acceptance speech it will be a hoot.

By: Tim Almond

Tim Almond — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:24:58 +0000

Let me get this straight…

He’s saying that Boris is someone who, through charm, is capable of getting people to do lots of work for him for little obvious reward.

How is this a bad thing for the ratepayers of London?