The Sunday Times said yesterday that though “many thought this would be a leap too far”, Boris Johnson “is starting to look prime ministerial”.
Many people will disagree. But it is noticeable how anxious his critics are to pin labels on him – racist, right-wing, posh – in order to place him in some unacceptable moral category, and condemn him without going to the trouble of listening to what he says.
This urge to reach a definitive view, which excludes other views, is an impediment to understanding what he is actually like.
In his acceptance speech, after it was announced that he had defeated Jeremy Hunt, Johnson sketched his approach to politics:
“I would just point out to you that nobody, no one person, no one party has a monopoly of wisdom, but if you look at the history of the last 200 years of this party’s existence, you will see it is we Conservatives that have had the best insights, I think, into human nature, and the best insights in how to manage the jostling sets of instincts in the human heart.”
Here is a politics which acknowledges emotion, “the jostling sets of instincts in the human heart”, rather than establishing an intellectual orthodoxy before which all else, including human nature, must yield.
To those who crave certainty, this is unsatisfactory. But we have recently been presented with too many certainties. The whole referendum debate was conducted by each side as if it was in possession of the exclusive truth, which demonstrated that its opponents were so many fools or liars.
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See Also:
(1) Polling guru claims Remainer plot to bring down Boris Johnson could backfire spectacularly
(2) Nick Ferrari slams ‘fanatical’ Dominic Grieve as he warns Remainer MPs are in ‘trouble’
(3) Brexit Secretary: EU’s Barnier Must Accept ‘Political Reality’ and Reopen Negotiations
(4) MERKEL CRISIS: Far-right AfD surges in shock poll ahead of crucial German elections
(5) France AND Italy lose faith in EU: Majority DO NOT trust Brussels – SHOCK POLL
