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October 03, 2005
Menace to society
Boris Johnson's September 29 Telegraph column is new to me, but has caused a minor stir in the British press. It's a fascinating glimpse at the ideologically topsy-turvy world of British politics (most pertinently, the Tory MP refers to George W Bush as "the cross-eyed Texan warmonger"), and as always, it's chock full of Johnson-brand zingers. There aren't too many writers I know of who could pull off something as hilariously convoluted as the following without sounding like a twat:
I have lost count of the number of times I have been rung by Peter Oborne, the brilliant political editor of The Spectator, to be told that the [Tony] Blair-[Gordon] Brown feud is about to reach its climax, and that Gordon's impatience can no longer be contained.
I was assured that Brown was going to jugulate Blair before the last election. And what happens? He just sits there, marmoreal, impassive, the incredible sulk, watching Blair jig around in front of him with all the inscrutable savagery of Old Brown, the owl, contemplating Squirrel Nutkin.
Gordon Brown has spent so long wondering when to make his move that he makes the giant panda seem a martyr to rash impetuosity.
More:
What kind of leadership has Brown shown these troops, many of whom have laid down their lives in the hope that he would become prime minister? He has let "I dare not" wait upon "I would"; he has been a big girl's blouse; and if Blair has a streak of granite running through him, as he boasted to this week's conference, then it would be fair to say that Gordon has a streak of solid tapioca.
(Big girl's blouse! Awesome — I haven't heard that since I was a wee lad. Along with "pear shaped", that's definitely one of my very favourite British idioms.)
Truly, the Brits have an embarrassment of broadsheet riches. My jealousy knows no bounds.
Posted by Chris Selley at October 3, 2005 09:49 PM
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