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“Johnson became Prime Minister despite personal flaws and poor track record in his sole ministerial job. The Conservative party turned to him to break the Brexit stalemate and stave off the threat from Farage’s Brexit party. He delivered for them. His ability to survive mishaps, missteps and scandals was down to his MPs’ belief that he was a unique electoral asset – able to appeal beyond traditional Conservative voters to a new coalition. As evidence mounted that he and his approach to governing were a liability and that he could never change, his USP evaporated and they forced him out.”
“Well in many ways he didn’t. Many of his predecessors lasted much longer. Regardless, Johnson had his political successes. He comfortably won the 2019 General Election by uniting a voter coalition behind ‘getting Brexit done’. His government won public plaudits more recently for the Covid vaccine rollout and Ukraine response too. So perhaps a better question is how it all fell apart, with personal scandals and missteps seeing his poll ratings collapse, Conservative MPs lose confidence and Johnson leave office less than three years after an election win that looked to have secured him in office for a long time.”
“In historical terms, Boris Johnson’s tenure as Prime Minister was short. Why? In the international context, populist leaders have shown remarkable staying power despite breaking conventions, norms and telling untruths. In fact, some have gathered more support both inside institutions and among their voters. Leaders like Trump or Putin use division to bolster their support. It’s intriguing to me that in the UK a populist politician, although one of a much milder variety, should come to such a rapid fall from power. Perhaps British society isn’t as polarised as we thought it was. At least for now.”
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