Next Boris to fore…. - EDITORIAL

My chances of being PM are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars, or my being reincarnated as an olive – Boris Johnson

Boris Pasternak, the Russian novelist won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 for his famous work Doctor Zhivago. While the book was banned in the USSR it went on to become an international best seller and David Lean made it to a movie with legendary Omar Sharif as lead. It bagged five Oscars at the Academy Awards and to date remains one of the most popular movies ever, making Boris Pasternak a fabled figure.  
Boris Becker, an unseeded 17-year-old German stormed into the tennis scene on July 7, 1985 winning the Wimbledon and thus becoming the youngest to win a Grand Slam. With an agility of a gymnast he mesmerized the world for years with his footwork and powerful serves and went on to become a six-time Grand Slam champion.  
Boris Yeltsin, the USSR strongman started hitting the international headlines more or less around the time of Becker, though not for all the right reasons one may say. Yeltsin became the first President of the Russian Federation in 1991 and continued for eight years amidst strong charges of election malpractices at the 1996 presidential race.  

Etymology traces the name Boris to Bulgaria and is believed to be a term used for snow leopard. Going by the original meaning, one may say no other Boris fits into the mould as does the latest, the hurly-burly, frizzy haired Boris Johnson, who is tipped to be the next Prime Minister of Britain. If this New York-born Tory who ditched his journalist career to join politics becomes the Premier as Britain will leave the European Union on October 31.   
While Brexit remains the biggest challenge for both Britain and the European Union and as to whether the Eurosceptic, Johnson will stick to his pronounced exit plan is something that many doubt. Already there are allegations that he has already given contradictory proposals to Tory MPs. Given this former London Mayor’s chequered track record one wonders how this political maverick would steer the trouble stricken Britain once it left the EU. Predictability and consistency have never been strong points of Johnson. His plan for Brexit right now includes doing away with Theresa May’s infamous ‘Withdrawal Agreement between the
UK and the EU’ and initiating fresh negotiations with Brussels.   

Still there’s a very little doubt that Johnson is also a doer. His innovative moves to improve the city of London as its mayor are evidence of the fact. However, a post Brexit-Britain is no easy ball game. Given the chaos it has already created it’s obvious that the next leader of Britain should be one endowed with mega doses of prudence and patience and the Conservative party has run short of such candidates.   

"Still there’s a very little doubt that Johnson is also a doer. His innovative moves to improve the city of London as its mayor are evidence of the fact. However, a post Brexit-Britain is no easy ball game. Given the chaos it has already created it’s obvious that the next leader of Britain should be one endowed with mega doses of prudence and patience"

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump who visited London early this month has called Johnson and Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage his friends. Interestingly besides being born in New York as Trump, Boris Johnson bares a stark resemblance both physically and also temperamentally to the US President.They both are known for egotism and unpredictability and maintain a love-hate relationship with the media.

Johnson being a seasoned politician and a former Foreign Secretary however is known for better common sense than Trump, a virtual parachute into politics. However, together they certainly can turn into a dangerous pair. The world has already had enough of Donald Trump. It certainly cannot afford to have another.