Sean Speer on Boris Johnson: Even COVID-19 can’t diminish U.K.’s happy warrior

News this week that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been admitted to intensive care due to complications from COVID-19 was a stark reminder that the virus is indiscriminate. Johnson’s frenetic prime ministership, including of course a decisive victory in last year’s elections, has often seemed to be marked by a combination of personal will and an elevated sense of history. That he now finds himself debilitated by the coronavirus is a sign that no one is impervious to its effects.

The Johnson-led Conservative party’s recent election manifesto therefore looked quite different than previous ones. Its appeal to the so-called “Workington man” — non-Conservative, working-class males in England’s northern towns — was reflected not just in Brexit but also in major new infrastructure spending, increased resources for the National Health Service, regional development initiatives, and an ambitious role for government in basic research and innovation.

This vision and message reflects another part of Johnson’s appeal: he’s a happy warrior. There’s a long list of accounts of his eccentricities, humour and penchant for self-effacement. Some of this is no doubt a shtick that Johnson has carefully crafted since his university days as well-known writer and former classmate Andrew Sullivan has observed. But that doesn’t make his “blundering brilliance” any less charming or effective.

And the third is about authenticity. Johnson’s biggest appeal may be that he doesn’t sound like he’s following a focus group-tested script. Conservatives elsewhere should similarly drop the talking points and instead let people into what they actually think.

And he insisted on shaking hands with coronavirus patients to make a point. Ok. 🤦🏻‍♀️

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