Heading into crucial British vote, a patrician prime minister takes up the populist Brexit banner

LONDON - From his elite education to his posh accent, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is, despite his shambling appearance, the very embodiment of a wealthy, powerful and privileged British establishment. But as the 55-year-old prime minister crisscrosses the country in advance of an enormously consequential election next month, he is casting himself in a role that has served him well throughout his political career: a cheerfully down-to-earth guy, a full-throated man of the people.

In a campaign dominated by Brexit - Britain's tortuous effort to leave the European Union - Johnson is wielding the populist cudgel in ways that many critics fear could have long-term, damaging effects on the country's centuries-old democratic traditions. He bashes Parliament, pooh-poohs the authority of the courts and accuses political rivals of seeking to thwart the will of the people, as expressed in the 2016 Brexit