Opinion | Bye-bye Boris, almost!

By Philip Yeung, a university teacher

PKY480@gmail.com

At long last, Boris, that bizarre Peppa Pig babbler, is going and almost gone—but definitely into the dustbin of history. For three years, he rampaged through the world's front pages, breaking laws, laughing at his own lies, covering up scandals, creating a string of his own, and bamboozling the British public in the process.

There was never a dull moment in Boris' short-lived tenancy at No. 10.

But finally, this clown who has artfully parlayed his shamelessness into the fine art of self-survival, finds himself at the end of his tether. There is no more rope, only enough length to hang himself. Boris is Boris no more.

Back when he was Lord Mayor of London, Boris was a star, a self-worshipping super-star. That is because on a smaller back stage, his powers were limited and so was his power to do harm. His clowning and bumbling antics were entertaining and largely harmless and ceremonial. But on the bigger national stage, he has totally exposed his weaknesses, telling himself and others that "If I can't do what I want, what's the use of being prime minister?", swiftly transforming himself into a first-class master of disaster---to his party, his country and the jilted EU. It reminds me of an axiom: "the higher the monkey climbs, the more he shows his tail". This applies to both Boris and Trump, a pair of over-weight, well-fed, over-hyped monkeys tearing up the world of politics.

This is the tragic tale of democracy. The man, like Boris or Trump, who can grab or hog the limelight, reigns supreme, hijacking the basest instincts of parochial populists or narrow-minded nativists. They are practiced in the politics of distraction and self-serving dissembling. Once propelled to the bigger platform, their destructiveness packs nuclear tonnage. They are a virtual one-man wrecking crew.

Trump left a trail of polarizing negativity and violent anarchy in his wake. Will Boris replicate his master's nuclear waste? With Trump the world teetered on the brink of global chaos. With Boris, his damage is thankfully limited to the shrinking UK and the splintering EU.

There is an ugly side to electoral politics that offends our sense of decency. For all his mayhem and madness, Boris can almost certainly look forward to multi-million book deals and the ever-inviting lucrative lecture circuits. Somehow in the West, notoriety is its own reward, the smellier the notoriety, the more handsome the reward. Vice is its own virtue. That is the warped logic of market-driven politics. In the East, disgraced politicians would be so mortified that they wish the ground would open and swallow them up. In the West, a politician's thick skin is his currency. He stands to profit from his misdeeds.

I appeal to all reputable publishers and lecture circuit sponsors with a conscience to hit Boris and Trump where it hurts. Starve them of the oxygen of money, and let them, for once, wallow in the misery of their shrinking wallet.

For Hong Kong, Boris has an irksome but interesting relevance. I am not talking about his empty threat to make China pay for allegedly curtailing freedoms in Hong Kong, I am talking about how big he looms over one of his high-profile local fans in this former British enclave. Tanya Chan, former Hong Kong legislator and Civic Party heavyweight, used to swoon over Boris as if he were God's gift to humanity, worshipping the very ground he walks on. Tanya, in case you forget, is an unabashed worshipper of all things British, besides being an unapologetic admirer of Boris. I suspect that both share a distaste for dullness as the ultimate sin in politics. Never mind the shallowness, for them the flashier the better. Boris would be tickled to know that he has completely dazzled and conquered Tanya this far in the East.

With her idol fallen and turned yesterday's flavor, I wonder what separation anxiety is eating up Tanya now? As for me, an addicted consumer of all things Boris, I am already experiencing withdrawal symptoms. What am I going to do with my life, now that you are out of it?

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

Read more articles by Philip Yeung:

Opinion | Red Scare, Yellow Peril, White Supremacy and Boris Blues

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