BoJo Gets Grilled

[mercia]

I think it was a comment relating to the discovery of a long-lost palace of Edward II's on the banks of the Thames. Reporting on this for the Times, Johnson invented a quote from an Oxford don, Colin Lucas, to the effect that the king "had enjoyed a reign of dissolution with his catamite, Piers Gaveston" in the palace - the only problem being that the palace was built in 1325 while Gaveston had been executed in 1312.

I see. Thank you. It doesn't sound a particularly serious offence [as offences go] to me.
I'm supposed to conclude that this makes him untrustworthy am I ?

[eighthobstruction]

Gross miscalculation on BJ's part....with the Cockcroft doc imminent he was bound to get ambushed....possibly he was expecting Andrew Marr to be in the seat opposite....can ANYONE see him having the gravitas and candour and diplomacy needed to negotiate Worlds issues with World leaders....

[Richard Barrett]

I see. Thank you. It doesn't sound a particularly serious offence [as offences go] to me.
I'm supposed to conclude that this makes him untrustworthy am I ?

Making up a quote to spice up an otherwise dull story is not in the greater scheme of things a serious offence, but it does say something about a person's commitment to journalistic integrity, don't you think? - and since the Times did sack him for it, it would seem the editors in question also thought so. More importantly, Johnson attempts to wriggle his way out of it in the interview by saying he thought of it as "mild sandpapering" of the facts, which does indeed cause one to wonder how much DIY goes into what he says otherwise. It isn't just a question of him telling lies in the past, but his attempt to deny them in the present with a mixture of incoherent bluster and a grotesque attempt at ingenuousness.

[Richard Barrett]

can ANYONE see him having the gravitas and candour and diplomacy needed to negotiate Worlds issues with World leaders....

No. Of course one could have said the same thing about George W Bush; but Bush had a lot more guns.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

in fact one of the few, if not only, point in BoJo's favour is that he is not from Texas ...

as Weber noted politicians must lie from time to time in the interest of good governance ... BoJo was furthering his personal ambitions and philandering appetites .... Caesar would have him close by for he is not lean eh?

[mercia]

it does say something about a person's commitment to journalistic integrity, don't you think?

I guess so - I can see that would be relevant to any journalistic ambitions he might have - is he in the running for a newspaper editorship ?
I thought he was supposed to have political ambitions

[Richard Barrett]

I guess so - I can see that would be relevant to any journalistic ambitions he might have - is he in the running for a newspaper editorship? I thought he was supposed to have political ambitions

He was, as you probably know, editor of the Spectator for some years, which post has often served as a stepping stone to high Tory office (Iain Macleod, Ian Gilmour and Nigel Lawson, for example, passed through editorship of the Spectator on their way to Tory cabinets). It was during this time that he described allegations of his affair with a columnist there as "an inverted pyramid of piffle", though they subsequently turned out to be true.

[gurnemanz]

The transactional analysis is fascinating - Boris tries continuously to disarm Eddie Mair by responding in child mode (child to parent or child to adult) but Eddie refuses to indulge him, remaining in adult-to-adult mode, utterly refusing to play Boris's game. I've long been an admirer of EM's quiet but deadly interviewing style.

Highly intelligent yes, but Boris fails to go beyond buffoon mode in his public utterances.

Echos, maybe, of Hal's rejection of Falstaff. Eddie might have said: "Reply not to me with a fool-born jest".

[amateur51]

He was, as you probably know, editor of the Spectator for some years, which post has often served as a stepping stone to high Tory office (Iain Macleod, Ian Gilmour and Nigel Lawson, for example, passed through editorship of the Spectator on their way to Tory cabinets). It was during this time that he described allegations of his affair with a columnist there as "an inverted pyramid of piffle", though they subsequently turned out to be true.

The Spectator fights back on its old boss' behalf:

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/james-forsyth/2013/03/itll-take-more-than-this-to-stop-boris/

Readers will note how James Forsyth reframes the three allegations and then attempts to shoot them down. Poor stuff

[Stunsworth]

Daddy's unhappy...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/mar/25/boris-johnson-bbc-interview

[amateur51]

Daddy's unhappy...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013...-bbc-interview

He's getting his retaliation in first, in case someone says "I blame the parents"

[Richard Barrett]

Readers will note how James Forsyth reframes the three allegations and then attempts to shoot them down. Poor stuff

Interesting though that Forsyth's rejoinder is couched in terms of "this won't end Johnson's career". And of course it won't, on its own. Pater also comes up with the "defence" that journalists make things up all the time (does that make it right to do so?) and "don't go down the drain for it". Neither Forsyth nor pater address the issue of Johnson's naked ambition to succeed Cameron, this being really the heart of the matter: both are getting a bit nervous that this glittering prize might just be beginning to slip out of reach.

[amateur51]

Interesting though that Forsyth's rejoinder is couched in terms of "this won't end Johnson's career". And of course it won't, on its own. Pater also comes up with the "defence" that journalists make things up all the time (does that make it right to do so?) and "don't go down the drain for it". Neither Forsyth nor pater address the issue of Johnson's naked ambition to succeed Cameron, this being really the heart of the matter: both are getting a bit nervous that this glittering prize might just be beginning to slip out of reach.

And of course with UKIP harrying the Tories in the polls, should Dave slip and Boris succeed him, who will Boris be up against? Nigel Farage who can out-buffoon Boris when it's popular and show him up as a buffoon when it's not.

Poor Boris

[Nick Armstrong]

And of course with UKIP harrying the Tories in the polls, should Dave slip and Boris succeed him, who will Boris be up against? Nigel Farage who can out-buffoon Boris when it's popular and show him up as a buffoon when it's not.

Poor Boris

Bojo and Monsieur Faragé running the country... can you imagine... ?! Makes Berlusconi and Beppe Grillo seem just a tad less horrific somehow

[eighthobstruction]

[QUOTE=gurnemanz;276114 "Reply not to me with a fool-born jest".[/QUOTE]

....I so wish he had said that....