In a triumph for the cult of celeb worship, the ludicrous Boris Johnson seems about to be declared Mayor of London. Words fail.
Ironically, Boris is mainly well-known and well recognised because BBC’s Have I Got News For You adopted him as a panel member. He was basically just there to be mocked as an old-school ex-Etonian Conservative buffoon. He could always be relied upon to say something shockingly preposterous. He was even quite prepared to send himself up, by over-playing his part for the entertainment of the relatively sophisticated audience that Have I Got News For You is aimed at.
Well, that’s certainly backfired. The end-result is that Boris has become an instantly recognisable figure -> a celeb, so, well worthy of the vote that we commoners spent centuries agitating to get…..
That idea that the British understand irony had better be revised pretty fast.
The joke would appear to be on the population of London now.
I remember when Have I Got News For You was aimed at a “relatively sophisticated audience”. Good times.
Alas, though, they are long gone. Brian sodding Blessed, indeed. You can see the despair in Paul Merton’s eyes every week. It’s rapidly turning into Richard And Judy’s ‘Funny’ YouTube Video Section.
I’m surprised the Conservatives didn’t ask for a re-count. Now the Olympic fiasco can be blamed on Boris, because who could resist a headline with the phrase ‘cock-up’ and Mr Johnson’s initials?
Alun 🙂
Andrew
I haven’t watched Have I Got News recently. I seem to watch it in an alternate time zone where it’s forever 2002 or something, thanks to the cable. Paul Merton with a despairing look doesn’t bode well for its current series.