Next Tory Leader

[FlammableFlower]

As discussed in the Pandemic section: claims of Johnson having visited Perugia.

Whether true or not (and No10 are being very vociferous in their denials of it) it yet again eats away at Johnson's credibility.

[Grumble]

As discussed in the Pandemic section: claims of Johnson having visited Perugia.

Whether true or not (and No10 are being very vociferous in their denials of it) it yet again eats away at Johnson's credibility.

The report seems sketchy, I can’t see why the Guardian decided to run it.

[Little waster]

The report seems sketchy,

I suppose it depends if you believe Johnson is the sort of horrible c.nt who would miss his own son's christening in order to have a pissed-up weekend with a mate.

[Bird on a Fire]

It does sound like a lot of people claimed to have seen him there, and he's pretty distinctive looking (and there would presumably be extra security protocols at an airport receiving a PM?). Are there many independent observations of him in England?

[FlammableFlower]

As I said, if true... looks like it's not. The Italians have admitted it's not him and he was at his child's christening in London.

[Grumble]

The report seems sketchy,

I suppose it depends if you believe Johnson is the sort of horrible c.nt who would miss his own son's christening in order to have a pissed-up weekend with a mate.

Belief doesn’t really come into it, is there any actual evidence?

[murmur]

It was Blair - "But all you Anglos look the same..." - and I think the whole farrago is more a comment on the total lack of credence much of the UK now puts in anything Downing Street or Johnson himself say or write, as he has lied, dissembled, bullshitted, lied and lied some more, then denied that he did so for at least as long as I've been aware of the lying liar, and been sacked for it at least once.

Can't see that he has anyone to blame but himself for this state of affairs...

[FlammableFlower]

It was Blair - "But all you Anglos look the same..." - and I think the whole farrago is more a comment on the total lack of credence much of the UK now puts in anything Downing Street or Johnson himself say or write, as he has lied, dissembled, bullshitted, lied and lied some more, then denied that he did so for at least as long as I've been aware of the lying liar, and been sacked for it at least once.

Can't see that he has anyone to blame but himself for this state of affairs...

That was very much my thought when I originally posted it - he's lost so much trust with his normal bluster and avoidance that gives way to outright lying that it almost doesn't matter whether it's true or not, people will now default to believing the worst of him (akin to Trump and the denigrating comments regarding the military).

[Bird on a Fire]

I'm quite surprised that multiple people apparently confused Blair and Johnson. I wonder if there was some error of communication involved.

[AMS]

I'm quite surprised that multiple people apparently confused Blair and Johnson. I wonder if there was some error of communication involved.

Mayor of Perugia (or whoever it was) gets wrong name for foreign leader? It's about as big a deal as a local council leader in England forgetting the name of the current Italian PM and saying Berlusconi instead.

I agree with the comments that it actually says more about the lack of trust people have in anything Johnson says.

[Bird on a Fire]

I'm quite surprised that multiple people apparently confused Blair and Johnson. I wonder if there was some error of communication involved.

Mayor of Perugia (or whoever it was) gets wrong name for foreign leader? It's about as big a deal as a local council leader in England forgetting the name of the current Italian PM and saying Berlusconi instead.

The report I read cited multiple (unnamed) airport sources.

It's the opposite of your example, though - it's like seeing Silvio Berlusconi at an airport and thinking he's the current PM of Italy. I can't vouch for Italian news, but Johnson's unwelcome visage frequently pops up on Portuguese TV so he's not totally obscure on the continent, plus you'd expect staff at a smallish airport would be aware of the kind of enhanced security measures that would take place were a current world leader to turn up.

I mean, apparently not, but it seems like either the Italian journalist(s) who broke the story didn't do any checking ("Boris Johnson? The current PM of the UK? *shows picture* This guy?") or they managed to find some particularly daft people who work there.

[shpalman]

I'm quite surprised that multiple people apparently confused Blair and Johnson. I wonder if there was some error of communication involved.

Mayor of Perugia (or whoever it was) gets wrong name for foreign leader? It's about as big a deal as a local council leader in England forgetting the name of the current Italian PM and saying Berlusconi instead.

Or not caring to check that it was the "president" of the airport who said it, not the mayor.



The airport, or rather the person in charge of it, was showing off about how many famous people had been through recently. The text refers to both Johnson and Blair. Maybe someone said "the British prime minister has been here... well, the ex-prime minister Tony Blair anyway" and someone else interpreted that to mean "the (current) British prime minister has been here, (as well as) the ex-prime minister Tony Blair".

[FlammableFlower]

That's where it got muddled - as Johnson previous did a quiet little flit* through there on the way to a heavy weekend at his Russian lord-mate's villa the other year.

*that one appears to have been a quiet slip out of the country.

[shpalman]

That's where it got muddled - as Johnson previous did a quiet little flit* through there on the way to a heavy weekend at his Russian lord-mate's villa the other year.

*that one appears to have been a quiet slip out of the country.

But while Johnson (probably) hasn't been here recently, Carrie Symonds has recently been to stay at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo with Wilfred and three friends (just up the lake from me).

I'm linking to an Italian report of that, to avoid having to link to, or indeed read, the Daily Mail or Daily Express. But that's why the Italian reports give the prices of the Italian hotel in terms of £ not €: they're basically just translating what the English press wrote. (They say £600 per night.)

[Grumble]

We have our stalking horse
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... SApp_Other

[jimbob]

We have our stalking horse
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... SApp_Other

ahe didn't exactly "throw" his hat into the ring as much as tentatively poke it into the ring.

[jimbob]

Mind you, he probably won't be risking deselection for "treachery," unlike Meyer.

[Gfamily]

Stolen from Twitter

BREAKING: Chris Grayling thrown his ring into the hat.

[Trinucleus]

Stolen from Twitter

BREAKING: Chris Grayling thrown his ring into the hat.

He's more competent than the current incumbent

[Grumble]

Stolen from Twitter

BREAKING: Chris Grayling thrown his ring into the hat.

Very good

[temptar]

We have our stalking horse
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... SApp_Other

Tbh He would be the best candidate which given the UK's record suggests he has not a hope.

[Brightonian]

Guto Harri asked PM 'Will you survive, Boris?' when appointed comms chief

Boris Johnson's new director of communications has revealed the the PM kneeled and sang the song I Will Survive when he appointed the Welsh journalist to the role.

Guto Harri has told website view360 that when he walked into Mr Johnson's office in Number 10 he did a salute and said: "Prime Minister, Guto Harri reporting for duty."

Mr Harri said the PM responded by starting to salute but then kneeled instead, saying "What am I doing, I should take the knee for you."

This was in reference to Mr Harri taking the knee to support Black Lives Matter when he was on GB News.

Mr Harri told the website he laughed before asking: "Are you going to survive, Boris?"

He said Mr Johnson then started to sing Gloria Gaynor's famous song.

"I inevitably invited him to say 'You've got all your life to live' and he replied, 'I've got all my love to give', so we had a little blast from Gloria Gaynor!"

https://news.sky.com/story/live-news-ri ... p-12514080

[Woodchopper]

I picture a bunch of aides standing round a whiteboard, which has “How to make people sympathise with Boris” written on it.

[lpm]

"Banter! That's what the people want, mate. The bantz! Boris, what an absolute legend."

[jimbob]

"Banter! That's what the people want, mate. The bantz! Boris, what an absolute legend."

And it might have worked a few months ago.

One problem for Johnson is that the partygate stories (and this) dovetail neatly into the image he's crafted from university, and a lot of his former supporters have stopped giving him the benefit of the doubt.