Th UK’s Prime Minister Theresa May chose Boris Johnson as the country’s foreign secretary. Why was the world so surprised by this decision?
In a political plot twist worthy of Game of Thrones, former London Mayor Boris Johnson is in the spotlight again with his unexpected appointment as the UK’s foreign secretary. The country’s new Prime Minister Theresa May, who succeeded David Cameron when he resigned on the 13th of July, selected him to occupy this key position.
The reactions of media and policy-makers globally were of more or less subtle mockery and incredulity.
WATCH: @StateDept Deputy Spokesman @toner_mark react to @BorisJohnson‘s appointment as Foreign Secretary.https://t.co/7Fu6OW1jSx — CSPAN (@cspan) 13 July 2016
Upside: Boris Johnson as UK Foreign Secretary is an absolute godsend for social media satire.
Downside: Most other things.
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) 13 July 2016
This is how @angelaeagle reacted the moment she found out Boris Johnson was the new foreign secretary #reshufflehttps://t.co/1MPy3BsdHB — Press Association (@PA) 13 July 2016
Foreign Secretary. Making sure GB is taken seriously ‘n international diplomacy and stuff. #BorisJohnson pic.twitter.com/C2zrcz14K9
— Rachel Waterman (@RW_HofV) July 13, 2016
Well-educated, witty and with an international background, Johnson has been in politics for the past fifteen years. However, diplomacy hasn’t been his strength. He’s probably the most controversial, colourful and unpredictable figure in British politics, famous for his gaffes and politically-incorrect jokes.
Boris Johnson’s buffoonery in 90 seconds #BorisisBack #reshufflehttps://t.co/cmEQdpX5ip
— Press Association (@PA) July 14, 2016
Born in the US city of New York in 1964, he studied Classics at Oxford University. Active in journalism and politics, there he joined the infamous Bullingdon Club, a drinking society known for local vandalism. He started his career as a journalist long before entering the political arena in 2001, when he became a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Conservative Party. He was Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, when he was succeeded by Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan. Throughout his political career, Johnson has been an active public figure with numerous television appearances, a busy journalist with regular columns in The Spectator, GQ and The Daily Telegraph, as well as a book author.
With his jokes and comments, Johnson has offended many in the UK and beyond. Not long ago he had a go at Barack Obama for coming out against Brexit. He mocked the US president for his decision to remove a bust of historic British statesman Winston Churchill from the Oval Office: “Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan President’s ancestral dislike of the British Empire – of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender”.
Despite having always been a supporter of Hillary Clinton, in 2007 he called her a “sadistic nurse in a mental hospital”. Among the most liberal of Conservatives, though he has always been actively in favour of LGBT rights, he hasn’t spared us homophobic comments either. Recently he also offended Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, taking part in a poetry competition for The Spectator (that didn’t go down well in Ankara), which he won with the poem:
There was a young fellow from Ankara
Who was a terrific w*nkerer
Till he sowed his wild oats
With the help of a goat
But he didn’t even stop to thankera
Whilst he justifies this attitude as satire, he might have to spend most of his time in his new international role apologising to people.
Here’s my first day remarks earlier to mediahttps://t.co/bSw3htGRed — Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) 14 July 2016
Perhaps one of his most surprising moves, Johnson decided to campaign in favour of Brexit. For many this was a move aimed at positioning himself to become the next Prime Minister. But when, after Cameron’s resignation, he advanced his candidacy, former justice secretary Michael Gove, who was expected to back the former London mayor, announced he would run himself, prompting Johnson to withdraw.
Following this (brief) fall from grace, Johnson is back as one of UK’s top political figures. We eagerly await his next moves as he aims to “reshape Britain’s profile as a world global player” and works alongside the new Cabinet in the Brexit negotiations yet-to-come.
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