Dire days were expected when Boris came to be Mayor of London. “A dodgy campaign”, said many. “A fool who’s swindled the public”, warned others. My good friend Mark was even interested to see whether London’s transport system would still be functioning on the Monday after the result. But, as Andrew Gimson notes in The Telegraph this weekend, Boris’s foes must be severely disappointed.
Boriswatch, in all fairness, was hopeful but apprehensive. Boris’s two main personality prongs have always battled to gain control of the Boris bandwagon – the cheery, jovial wit who could charm the world but struggled to be taken seriously; and the intensely clever figure whose intellect had continually pushed him up the greasy political pole. Which would win?
Well, it sames that the intellect has won, which is great for Boris’s profile but does provide a little less column inches (don’t suppose you’ve noticed? Ed)
I had the privilege to visit City Hall a couple of months ago for a look around his office and a hearty discussion on Boris-based online adventures. His team were excited, enthusiastic and looking forward to the task ahead. They were, to put it sympathetically, sweeping out the cobwebs of the organically grown City Hall that existed under Ken Livingstone. There were departments doing virtually identical things. There was a culture of late arrivals and early departures in the working day. And there were many people who were firm Ken supporters, mainly because Ken gave them a job. This is all being spruced up, and City Hall will be much better value for money for Londoners. Londoners themselves, at least those who weren’t firm supporters before, seem to have warmed to the new administration too.
As the Telegraph’s article concludes, for a man who less than four years ago was sacked from his shadow front-bench post by the then Tory leader, it is a pretty astonishing comeback. Ken, it is whispered in Hall corridors, is certain to want to plan his own comeback in 4 years. Has the last 100 days changed his mind, do you think?
Not so fast.
I for one never expected London to become a wasteland under Boris within a few months. These things take time. He’s already taken the preliminary steps – chucking out all of the senior women in city hall, for one, but it will be a while before his ineptitude really has an impact on our daily lives.
Lets see whether crime falls significantly in the next four years, whether London’s reputation is enhanced or destroyed by the 2012 games, and whether he ever manages to introduce his pet-project the routmaster before we start to hand him unearned praise.
Oh.
And add this one to your list: Boris cancels £10K from Soho Pride. Event is taking place this Sunday – but the mayor’s office withdrew the funding last Friday.
http://www.homovision.tv/boris-cancels-10k-from-soho-pride/
How can anyone take Boris seriously, just look at his appalling manners, oh, and the way he dresses. I guess they are off the peg suits, as they are so ill fitting, so he obviously does not take his job seriously, so why should we take him seriously?
Not everyone knows who Boris Johnson is and therefore he should make a good first impression. Afterall, he is supposed to be a leader!