24
Jul
UK’s next PM Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson officially became prime minister of the UK after an audience with the Queen later this afternoon. Yesterday he defeated his Tory party rival Jeremy Hunt as he received the majority of votes in a ballot of party members. The 55-year-old former foreign minister and former mayor of London now can form his cabinet and deliver Brexit by 31st October, having 99 days to make good on his promise.
It feels like a political déjà vu watching Margaret Thatcher's favourite political columnist as a leader of the country. Boris Johnson was the favourite to be PM back in 2016 when David Cameron resigned in the wake of the Brexit vote but was smoothly replaced by Michael Gove who literally laid a red carpet for Teresa May towards 10 Downing Street. Hers was a rather similar victory over Al Gore by George W. Bush in 2001. Still, it is better three years later than never.
Born Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson on 19th June 1964, in a posh, residential Upper East Side neighbourhood of Manhattan in New York City, the 55-year-old first made name as a newspaper journalist (The Times, The Daily Telegraph) and editor (Spectator magazine, 1999-2005), and then serving as a member of Parliament (2001-2008, 2015-present), as Mayor of London (2008-2016), and as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (2016-2018).
When Boris Johnson moves into 10 Downing Street this weekend, his girlfriend Carrie Symonds is expected to join him. As British Prime Ministers have only been joined by their wives or husbands in the past, Carrie will be the first live-in girlfriend at No10. She has been keeping a low-profile since her relationship with Boris Johnson became public last year. Looking marvellous in a red floral summer dress by Ghost, Carrie made an unusual appearance outside 10 Downing Street today when Boris gave his first speech.
Boris Johnson is the 14th to enter 10 Downing Street during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. He shall fill shoes of Sir Winston Churchill (1951-1955) who was the incumbent Prime Minister of the United Kingdom when Elizabeth became queen, following the line of Sir Anthony Eden (1955-1957), Harold Macmillan (1957-1963), Sir Alec Douglas-Home (1963-1964), Harold Wilson (1964-1970, 1974-1976), Edward Heath (1970-1974), James Callaghan (1976-1979), Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990), Sir John Major (1990-1997), Tony Blair (1997-2007), Gordon Brown (2007-2010), David Cameron (2010-2016), and Theresa May (2016-2019).
In a time of political uncertainty when the Brexit countdown has been rescheduled in March, a miracle cannot be expected. Simply a step forward would work. Only time can show whether the new Prime Minister will be able to avoid the continental obstacles in the way of achieving the goals of making Britain free and independent again. All the best, sir!
