Boris Johnson: Cavalier or cavalier?

Romantic or Reckless?

The title of this piece may well puzzle those not born or brought up in the UK. Hence a word or two of explanation. Cavalier refers to those who fought for the King, Charles I, during the English Civil War: cavalier with a small “c” describe someone who is careless with facts, or thoughtless in his or her dealings with people.

The answer to my question would seem obvious.  All the evidence suggests that Boris is both these things, in political and personal life alike. The question for us all is which of these qualities will prevail in his tenure as Prime Minister.  Romantics who realise their dreams, like Steve Jobs or Winston Churchill, are also masters of detail and ferociously hard workers.  Reckless pairs with feckless: and we all know where that ends.

The question for Boris is whether a man who has rarely known when to stop and rein in his impulses, can impose on himself the discipline required to get the job done. It is widely accepted that he did so as Mayor of London. This time, however, he will be judged, just as Theresa May has been, on a single issue. Can he deliver Brexit and do so without major adverse consequences?  If he succeeds, he passes to the broad sunlit uplands of Churchill’s most famous speech. If not, he will be out on his ear, and in pretty short order. Game over.

There is a good case for seeing English history – and I specifically mean English - through the lens of Cavalier vs “Roundhead”, as the forces led by Oliver Cromwell in support of Parliament are commonly known.  I’m not talking about a re-run of the 17th century Civil War, god help us: one is more than enough.  I hope that the matter of parliamentary sovereignty is settled once and for all. 

I am talking rather about the national mood, and the way it swings. For example, post-war Britain was by and large pretty grim. The nation was broke and exhausted, facing a massive programme of reconstruction, compounded by food rationing and the ineluctable loss of status as a world power. When the 1960s arrived, it was as though everything changed from black and white to glorious Technicolor [sic].  The country recovered its self-confidence. Our manufacturers led the way in sports car production [the great Enzo Ferrari actually described the Jaguar E type as the most beautiful car in the world].  Our fashion and its icons such as Carnaby Street and Twiggy attracted flocks of foreign visitors to London and the Beatles conquered the world.  In the words of Tony Blair, not someone I often quote, Britain was cool.  No wonder The Italian Job is revered as one of the great movies of all time.

And then the 1970s happened and darkness closed in once more. Industrial strife, three-day weeks, balance of payments crises – it was like the 1950s all over again. At the end of the decade Margaret Thatcher was elected and that sense of national self-confidence began to re-assert itself.

I’m not arguing for historical determinism. But it does seem a pattern is discernible: extroversion and flamboyance [when the Cavaliers hold sway] alternate with austerity and general grimness [when it’s the turn of the Roundheads]. I freely acknowledge that it’s by no means the same for everyone. If you’re unemployed and homeless, these may sound like hollow words. But if you are unemployed and homeless, I suggest you stand a damn sight better chance of finding a job and a roof over your head if the national mood is that of optimism and solving problems than of plodding hopelessness and helplessness at the mercy of Fate.

Johnson has judged his moment perfectly. The country is in the mood for a change. After the grey, rather puritan years of May and Hammond and the seemingly insoluble riddle of Brexit, Britain is on the cusp of a transition.  We want larger-than-life characters, and we will forgive them their pecadilloes if they cheer us up and restore some sense of purpose and self-belief. In mainland Europe, it may be rather different. The English may find his - highly contrived - buffoonish personality endearing. The Scots, Welsh and Irish don't seem greatly amused. In Brussels, he is seen as a clueless clown. Why not surprise them, Boris? Smarten up. Master the detail. Form a crack negotiating team [Oliver "Ollie" Robins need not apply]. Hell, even resurrect your rusty French for the benefit of M Barnier.

It is of course true that the Cavaliers lost the Civil War and Charles I literally lost his head. But Cromwell’s joyless rule was not long and the nation had little truck with his short-lived successor as Lord Protector, his son Richard.  By popular demand the monarch was restored, and few citizens save religious non-conformists and their preachers were bothered by Charles II's philandering and general love of a good time.

Just don’t blow it, Boris. There is no second chance.