New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. The Staggers
31 January 2023

Boris Johnson has the ultimate case of main character syndrome

In recounting Vladimir Putin’s supposed missile threats, the former prime minister totally misses the point.

By Katie Stallard

Boris Johnson wants us to understand how brave he is. As the former British prime minister recently recounted a phone conversation with Vladimir Putin in early February last year – around three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine – he made sure to mention how the Russian president had (allegedly) casually threatened to kill him.

“He threatened me at one point,” Johnson recalls in an interview for a new BBC documentary Putin vs the West. “He said, ‘You know, Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile it would only take a minute,’ or something like that.” He pauses, half-smiling, apparently impressed with his own anecdote. “You know… jolly.”

Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
Common Goals
Securing our national assets
A mission for a better country and economy
Topics in this article : , ,