The former London mayor and foreign secretary will bring charisma and irreverent humor to the tough job of taking Britain out of the European Union.
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arring a last-minute upset, Boris Johnson will soon find himself the new Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister. Having won a commanding majority in the first round of internal party voting to replace Theresa May, the former London mayor and foreign secretary — known universally as “Boris” — will bring charisma and irreverent humor to the tough job of taking Britain out of the European Union. Here are five things to know about him:
Boris cultivates a semi-buffoonish image, with his trademark mop-haired look, stunts like getting stranded on a zipline over London, and his (sometimes controversial) humor. Back in 2007 he said that “my chances of being prime minister are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars, or my being reincarnated as an olive.” That’s no longer true, but in this campaign, he has tried to avoid gaffes, perhaps mindful of an old line of his: “My friends, as I have discovered myself, there are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters.”
Announcing his candidacy immediately after Theresa May’s resignation, Johnson made clear that unless the European Union gave the UK a better deal, he would have no qualms about going for a no-deal Brexit. Brussels insiders have said they see Boris using his popularity to sell Theresa May’s deal — suitably repackaged — to Conservative voters. But equally plausible is that Johnson may actually mean what he says, and go for a Trumpian clean break on October 31.
Admittedly, having Jeremy Corbyn as an alternative makes anyone look like a Zionist, but Boris Johnson is indeed refreshingly pro-Jewish and pro-Israel. With some Jewish ancestry mixed in with the rest, plus shofar-blowing antics, Boris famously delighted Israel supporters in 2015 by calling BDS activists “snaggle-toothed, corduroy-jacketed lefty academics.”
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