United Kingdom: A brash Conservative to lead London

What a breath of fresh air for smoggy London, said Kwasi Kwarteng in The Guardian. Boris Johnson, an outspoken “youngster” of 44, has unseated Mayor Ken Livingstone to become the first Conservative leader of London in more than three decades. “Charming, funny, and generous,” Boris, as everyone calls him, is a born flirt who delights in repartee. His critics tried to twist these strengths into weaknesses and portray him as a mere jokester or, worse, a womanizing buffoon. They even tried to use his Oxford background to brand him as an upper-class twit, even a racist. The smear campaign failed, as well it should have. Boris is hardly an old-style English imperialist. “His father’s family came from Turkey. His wife’s mother is Indian. He was born in New York.”

Johnson’s election is considered an upset, but it’s really not that surprising, said William Rees-Mogg in The Times. “London voters have consistently voted for the candidate who most resembled Falstaff in character.” Livingstone, 62, used to be that Shakespearean icon, combining “a big personality, a shrewd intelligence,” and “a certain reputation where women are concerned.” But eight years in office dampened Livingstone’s warmth, and now it is Boris’ turn to play Falstaff on the political stage. He is “highly intelligent,” and “basically good-natured”; we can expect him to be a good mayor.

Let’s hope the old, fun Boris may now re-emerge, said Craig Brown in The Daily Telegraph. Johnson turned off his trademark wit during the campaign after many of his ironic remarks, mostly made in exceptionally well-written newspaper columns, were taken completely out of context. He was pilloried, for example, for having used the word “piccaninnies” thus: “It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies.” Quite obviously, Boris used the word not to mock Africans but rather the monarchy and the imperialist mind-set. Journalists, though, can’t understand irony, so Boris’ campaign handlers went to work, “grimly striking out anything that might be too amusing from his speeches.” Now that the campaign is over, Boris should unleash his tongue. Brits above all people ought to know that “the opposite of funny is not serious: The opposite of funny is not funny.”

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But politics is not supposed to be entertainment, said John Harris in The Guardian. Running a world capital is a serious job—and it will be the first managerial job that Boris has ever held, after years of writing for newspapers and sitting in Parliament. Livingstone was our most progressive incumbent politician, while this right-winger is just “the fella with the hair”—all shtick and no substance. Even those who voted for him can’t say what he stands for; they seem to have given in to “a very British desire to upset the applecart.” For progressives, the only comfort is that Boris is likely to “so screw up” that he won’t last more than one term.