Perhaps it wasn’t surprising given the paucity of talent on display (we wanted Glastonbury, they gave us the V Festival), but it’s still notable that it was Boris Johnson, rather than any of the performers, who received the biggest cheer at last night’s Olympics closing ceremony. The Games began with thousands chanting “Boris! Boris!” in Hyde Park, they ended with them roaring at the mere mention of his name in Stratford. It’s hard to think of any other politician who could enjoy such a reception because, put simply, there isn’t one.
Some will argue that this reflects the executive weakness of the Mayor’s office. He’s not a leader, he’s a mascot. But Ken Livingstone never enjoyed such adoration and no alternative Labour (David Lammy?) or Conservative Mayor (Seb Coe?) would. The result is that Boris is now spoken of as a potential prime minister by both the left and the right, and viewed as an increasing threat by Labour.
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