The Tory MP has little to fear from a new biography by an old friend, says former Spectator editor alexander chancellor |
 |
|
|
Having at first agreed that his friend and Spectator colleague, Andrew Gimson, should write his biography ("Such is my colossal vanity that I have no intention of trying to forbid you"), Boris Johnson grew increasingly windy about the project, offering Gimson larger and larger sums of money - and even free Greek lessons for his children - to persuade him not to do it.
He feared that the book might be "the most fantastic piss-take" or, far worse, "purport to tell the truth"; and that it would be used by other people "to fan old coals and heat up long-dead issues". But he needn't have worried. Gimson, while dwelling dutifully on Boris's various weaknesses, clearly regards him as an Ubermensch to whom the normal rules of behaviour do not apply. |
|
 |
 |
|
| Andrew Gimson clearly regards Boris Johnson as an Ubermensch to whom the normal rules of behaviour do not apply |
|
|
|
He says, for example, that "he is a man of immense energy, who was no more brought up to be faithful to a single woman than Charles James Fox was brought up to abstain from gambling".
So Boris's alleged failings - not only his adulteries but also his unscrupulousness in the reckless pursuit of his own ambitions - are greatly outweighed by his charm, wit, brilliance and self-deprecating adorability.
For Gimson, he is "a colossus of our times" (he may have intended that to sound ironic, but I suspect he means it) and a man who, despite his self-inflicted setbacks, may yet achieve the highest political office.
Boris has said that his chances of becoming Prime Minister "are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars", but Gimson ends his lively and entertaining book in disagreement.
"In a world where Reagan can become President, it is not preposterous to think of Boris as Prime Minister," he says. Much as I admire Boris, I fear that it may be just a little bit preposterous. 
FIRST POSTED SEPTEMBER 30, 2006
Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson
by Andrew Gimson (Simon and Schuster, £17.99)
 The jester of Westminster
The Tories can't afford complacency
 Check out The First Post's books page
|
