The fact that a serial liar, and arguably the worst UK Prime Minister in living memory, has had to be herded out of office by treacherous close colleagues should come as no surprise.
At the time of writing, of course, he remains in Downing Street like a scruffy vagrant squatter, whilst those who supported him before stabbing him in the back further demonstrate their moral bankruptcy as they fight over who should be his replacement.
Boris Johnson’s arrogance, vanity, lack of respect for rules and laws, and huge list of personal flaws, meant that he was always going to desperately cling on to a position that he falsely believed he was entitled to.
This is an individual, don’t forget, who has a long and dark history of putting his own interests before those of all others.
He is a man with no moral compass, who has lied and cheated in every area of his working and personal life; a person who joined the ‘leave’ campaign and became the poster boy for the socio-economic disaster that is Brexit, despite writing an article shortly before his decision outlining his desire to ‘remain’, highlighting some of the huge problems the UK would face if it left the EU in the process.
Of course, as we know, he chose the former, not through any desire to do what was best for the country, but because he saw that ‘leave’ would provide him with a faster and easier way into Number 10.
His subsequent gain was the nation’s loss, and the legacy of the immeasurable damage caused by his tenure as Prime Minister will likely take at least a generation to repair.
The really tragic thing through it all, however, is that Johnson’s rise to power was merely a symptom of a much wider problem in both UK society and on a global scale.
The ever-increasing shift by voters in western nations to embrace a dangerous and shallow brand of populism during the last 20 or so years means that they have put the cult of personality ahead of substance and reality.
Of course, populism has always existed, but whereas many political personalities in previous eras actually offered legitimate working policies and agendas, whether we agreed with them or not, the modern versions, like Johnson, have swept into power based on nothing more than empty soundbites that have pandered to the prejudices and intolerance of certain sections of the electorate.
The fact that many supporters of populist leaders hold extremist views with dark undertones of persecution against other members of society, based on factors including differences of culture, nationality, religion, politics, and sexual orientation, further underlines the menacing path on which modern society seems to have embarked.
In addition to Johnson, and as stated in one of my previous articles, ‘Corruption in plain sight. The Johnson ‘cult’ and the dangers of blind devotion’: “Well-known examples since the turn of the century include former US President Donald Trump, Brasil’s Jair Balsonaro, and the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, which clearly demonstrates that populism isn’t restricted exclusively to either the left or right.
“Chávez, it could be argued, actually did many things to improve living standards for the poor in his county. However, reckless management of the nation’s rich resources (namely oil) also led to major problems, such as astronomical inflation, and crime rates in Venezuela spiralled out of control both during his term and that of his oppressive successor.”
I also went on to outline the various “divisive and destructive” qualities of the individuals, including traits of narcissism to dangerous levels.
Many qualified experts, including Dr John Zinner, a leading psychoanalyst and clinical professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine in the US, even went as far to declare Trump as having such severe mental health disorders that they “render him incapable of attending to any issue beyond his own personal need for adulation.”
Johnson may not have had the same volume of studies carried out into his own mental state, but lying, cheating, and sense of entitlement are all common traits amongst people with severe cases of the most negative forms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and the current British PM has them in abundance.
Furthermore, these type of individuals usually have a hugely negative impact on the lives of those with whom they come into contact, so it’s hardly surprising that in the highly unfortunate and irresponsible event they are allowed to achieve positions of political power, they will wreak havoc on a huge scale.
As fellow journalist Almara Abgarian wrote in her article ‘Prepare for the age of Boris anxiety – Britain’s underqualified PM is going to play havoc with our mental health‘, when Johnson was appointed PM in 2019, such moves can actually have an adverse psychological effect on the wider populace.
“Politics anxiety is a very real phenomenon that affects people to a detrimental degree, and never has this been as prevalent as in the current political climate,” she said.
“For many, Johnson coming to power also signals the end of meritocracy, which causes feelings of upset. Throughout our lives, we’re told that if we work hard, we will see results. And yet here is a man who has many times been exposed for his errors in judgement, and rarely been held accountable, but still able to secure the most important role in the UK.”
She said that Brexit, the campaign which Johnson led, and which has predictably turned into a disaster of huge proportions, had also negatively affected the population’s psyche.
“Feeling a lack of control and uncertainty about the future is the perfect breeding ground for anxiety. If you’re having trouble sleeping, can’t concentrate and are constantly worrying about the future, it’s possible that it’s connected to what’s happening in the UK, or the world, for that matter,” she added.
“There’s no right or wrong, but make no mistake – Boris anxiety is coming, so prepare yourself.”
The latter comment was a prediction shared by many of us from the very moment Johnson embarked on his political career.
The warning signs were there for all to see: a disregard for others and sense of entitlement growing up (highlighted by his snobbish and destructive behaviour as a member of Oxford University’s odious and notorious Bullingdon Club – all too often a popular breeding ground for the obnoxious idiot sons of society’s wealthy); dishonesty and subsequent sackings from various jobs; public expressions of racism and homophobia; widespread infidelity, including cheating on one of his former wives whilst she was battling against cancer; the ease with which he betrayed and stabbed others in the back; putting his own needs and ambition before that of all others (his Brexit campaign decision being a prime example); and the constant lies, which seem to spew from Johnson’s mouth with the same ease and frequency as a cow eating grass.
Yet, despite the glaring evidence that he was possibly the most unsuitable candidate for any senior political post, let alone the highest one in the land, members of his own party and the wider electorate took his empty promises and false public persona as a bumbling but affable rogue and ‘man of the people’ at face value.
It was widely known that Johnson had always aspired to be the nation’s Prime Minister above anything else. He actually believed it was his birth right.
And he was given huge assistance by biased media, who helped cultivate his completely misleading public image whilst at the same time attacking his opponents.
It is with no small hint of irony that those same media barons and editors who aided his rise to power were also instrumental in his subsequent downfall.
Their role and ability in influencing such changes, of course, is yet another major symptom of the societal problems we are currently facing.
Naive and lazy at best, downright stupid at worst, all too many members of the public are quick to believe the propaganda and lies churned out by media outlets owned by the likes of Rupert Murdoch (the Sun and Times newspapers), Lord Rothermere (Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, etc) , and Frederick Barclay (Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph). A special mention also has to be reserved for Reach Plc’s Express, which led the charge with much of the misleading, irresponsible, and xenophobic anti-European, pro-Brexit rhetoric which led to such large numbers of people being conned into voting for the suicidal and destructive move to leave the EU.
As we now know, Brexit was driven by affluent elitists who were keen to protect their obscene wealth, much of it kept in offshore tax havens (meaning they don’t pay tax on it into UK coffers), from increased EU investigation, cash in on a sudden devaluation of the pound (which happened directly after the 2016 referendum), and erode human and workers’ rights, thus enabling those same billionaires to exert more control over the British populace without scrutiny from Europe.
A number of those connected to the media enterprises I have mentioned are among those elitists who have stood to benefit from Brexit, and they continued to support Johnson until even they could no longer tolerate his gross incompetence and constant lying.
It is both abhorrent and deeply worrying that they have been able to wield power so great as to effectively choose who should lead the country, and the fact that such a large section of the public fell into their trap, and continue to do so, is a major issue for society to address.
It goes without saying that the only people who can come up with the solution are the electorate themselves.
And to enable them to make balanced and informed decisions before placing their votes, they need to stop buying into the stream of manipulative and controlling ‘misinformation’ churned out by the Murdoch, Rothermere, and Barclay empires, and look at the wider picture.
Aside from Brexit, Johnson’s tenure as Prime Minister has been catastrophic in so many ways.
The Government’s handling of the Covid pandemic was branded “the worst public health failure ever” in a report by MPs, and Johnson was widely criticised for his delay in implementing measures which would have stemmed the tide of infections.
At the same time, after finally implementing ‘lockdown’ measures, under which the public were confined to their homes, not even being allowed to visit dying relatives, it was discovered that Johnson and his government chums were having boozy parties in Downing Street.
Not only that, but he initially lied when confronted with the accusations, only being forced to retract after becoming the first serving UK PM in history to be punished for breaking the law; ironically one which he and his own administration set.
Also on his watch, the country has continued to alienate former allies and trading partners and developed an ever more hostile attitude towards immigrants, and then there is the question of corruption, and the awarding of jobs and lucrative public contracts to Johnson administration cronies, without fulfilling the usual legal or ethical requirements.
Peerages have also been awarded to personal allies, and allegations of Russian interference in and influence over both the Tory Party and Brexit process call into question the very legitimacy of the country’s democratic system.
The list continues and I could go on, but most people with even the smallest amount of objectivity know full well the huge number of failings of both Johnson and his government.
Sadly, the nightmare will continue for at least some time, because two of his former colleagues, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, are currently going head-to-head in an attempt to become his successor.
They are the final two candidates from a pool of Tory MPs who have been attacking and undermining each other for the last two weeks during a party leadership contest which has further underlined the Conservative’s self-serving pattern of putting individual ambition and party matters ahead of important wider issues and the needs of the nation.
Like Johnson, neither candidate is remotely suitable for the highest post in the land, with Sunak (formerly the richest chancellor in British history) even exposed trying the distance himself from regular working class people by means of a resurfaced video made when he was younger.
Yet, all the while, changes (many subtle and others not so) have been taking place which are placing ever more power in the hands of those who currently have it whilst at the same time stripping the rights and ability to speak out from the masses.
Johnson was a convenient frontman for the elitists truly pulling the strings, and any successor within his party will most likely continue to be so.
However, allowing an unelected minority of billionaires to have such power in the background, which they abuse for their own benefit at the expense of the people, is not only anti-democratic, it is a real threat to the very fabric of society.
Boris Johnson has been an utter disaster for the United Kingdom and anyone with a moral compass, regardless of political ideology, will be thankful for his downfall.
However, his tenure, which has been marked by lies, systemic corruption and gross incompetence, has been merely the public face of a much wider problem.
The real menace remains lurking in the background, and until the electorate shows a concerted desire to take back control and fight for their rights, his successors will continue to dance to the tune of the elitist orchestra playing in the shadows.
Personal website: https://www.pauldbull.com
For more on my take on Brexit, see the following video and article:
