Boris Johnson is now the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The tousle-headed neo-liberal fought a remarkably quiet campaign, perhaps with good reason.
If there were ever a modern British politician with enough skeletons in the closet to bring him down on the first day of his premiership: it's Johnson. Even so, the Conservative parliamentary party couldn't stop him. Mostly due to their weakness.
A once frenemy of the liberal David Cameron, Johnson has waited his way into 10 Downing Street, having pulled out of the leadership campaign against Theresa May in 2016.
His record is spotty, and as checkered as his personal life.
His record is spotty, and as checkered as his personal life.
He's flip-flopped on Brexit. He's in favor of mass migration. He even wants amnesty for illegal immigrants.
He's been wantonly rude about President Trump. He's remarked upon his disdain for a Christian Europe. He was one of the Tory Party's "modernizers", a campaign that lost the Conservative Party a massive number of its members.
Boris was a bad mayor, too.
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UK Foreign Office[/caption]
Yes, crime leveled off. It would be very hard to be as bad as Sadiq Khan. But he blew billions on failed public projects and quirky suggestions aimed at keeping his ebullient and eccentric persona at the forefront of people's minds: like the London Garden Bridge project that never was, or the Thames Estuary Airport otherwise known as "Boris Island".
He's been a lackluster Member of Parliament for my home town, Uxbridge. He also made a catastrophic blunder as Foreign Secretary, when he told parliament that Iran-captive, British citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been teaching journalism to students. The Iranian regime used this to justify its claims over her being a spy.
It is understandable, therefore, that ordinary Britons – Brexiteers and Remainers alike – are skeptical of Boris's powers to govern, or even coherently lead his party, as prime minister.
...he's not a conservative prime minister. He's a Conservative Party prime minister.
A man with a track record as bad as his in politics, and a personal life riven with cheating, abortions, and lies, has no business being a "conservative" prime minister.
But he's not a conservative prime minister. He's a Conservative Party prime minister.
The Tories ceased to be anything resembling conservative after they deposed Margaret Thatcher.
Those born with the elite mentality have picked so many prime ministers without the public's approval it raises the question as to whether Britain can really even be considered a democracy.
But there is a way to get at Boris and the Conservative Party's ruling elite: populism.
They listen to Lynton Crosby – a devious Australian campaign strategist whose only real input is public opinion.
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Photo: U.S. Military[/caption]
Boris's own instincts are populist – not because he particularly cares about the will of the people, but because he worries about being unpopular. He likes to be liked, and loathes being criticized.
To keep Boris and the Tories honest (well, as honest as the Conservative Party can be kept), British voters should hammer them both at every turn.
There's been some jubilation on the right today, following Boris's coronation. That's dangerous.
While a grace, or honeymoon period is the norm, Britain doesn't have time for it, given our EU leaving deadline is October 31st.
There's no time for Boris to make mistakes. No time for clowning around. No time to be waving fish around in the air and inventing fake rules from Brussels.
The Conservative Party needs to feel the urgent, existential threat of electoral oblivion if they don't deliver a real Brexit.
There's certainly no time for him to be dragged into a vegan climate change virtue-signaling contest at the behest of his new and troublesome liberal girlfriend.
That's why Boris and the Tories must be criticized, not applauded, throughout this process.
If they're moving quickly, we must say they're not quick enough.
If they're getting concessions from Brussels, we must say they're not getting enough.
If they're going wobbly or backing down, we must mount massive campaigns to make them unpopular.
There's no time for the benefit of the doubt.
The Conservative Party needs to feel the urgent, existential threat of electoral oblivion if they don't deliver a real Brexit.
And whatever you do, don't tell pollsters you intend to vote for them. Let them work harder for your support than ever before.
Raheem Kassam is the Global Editor in Chief of Human Events.
