My Take | How an unbuttoned jacket symbolises Boris Johnson’s undoing
- The then London mayor said his open jacket at the Beijing Olympics reflected ‘openness’ and ‘transparency’, the very principles that would be his downfall
The closing ceremony for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 sparked a minor controversy that has long been forgotten. The Olympic flag was passed on to London. It was received by an individual with messy hair who defied convention by grasping the flag with one hand and leaving his jacket undone. Boris Johnson had arrived.
At that time, the British politician was the newly elected mayor of London. His performance attracted criticism in China with one blogger accusing him of being “rude and arrogant” for appearing to ignore Beijing’s mayor.
No one would have imagined then that this rather dishevelled, mischievous character would go on to become Britain’s leader and preside over its historic departure from the European Union.
Last week, Johnson’s three-year spell at the top came to a sudden halt. A catastrophic loss of support within his party, after a series of scandals, prompted mass resignations.
Johnson is known as “the greased piglet” for his extraordinary ability to wriggle out of tight situations. This time, the piglet got stuck.
He emerged from 10 Downing Street to begrudgingly announce he would go when a new leader is chosen. In customary style, Johnson took the opportunity to brag about his government’s achievements. His only regret was that he had failed to persuade colleagues he should stay.
Love him or loathe him, Johnson has been a dominant force in British politics. An optimist and opportunist, he led the campaign to take Britain out of the EU in 2016. A successful party leadership bid followed in 2019 and he won a landslide election victory the following year.