Attack of the Zombie Populists
When, in September, Boris Johnson left office after two-and-a-half turbulent years as prime minister, he defended his record with some jokes and a sprinkling of classical allusion. “Like Cincinnatus, I am now returning to my plough,” he said.
As many commentators were quick to point out, the reference to Cincinnatus contained a coded meaning. After this Roman consul left office, he returned to his small ancestral farm to till the fields, only to be recalled to government at a moment of great crisis. Johnson was hinting that he might himself soon enjoy a similar fate.
His prophecy nearly came to pass. For a brief spell over the weekend, Britain’s Conservative Party seriously considered the idea of calling Boris Johnson back to power.
In the end, of course, the party anointed Rishi Sunak, a former chancellor of the Exchequer who lacks both Johnson’s charisma and his irresponsibility, as its leader—and thus the country’s prime minister. Sunak’s ascension is easy to understand. After the extended chaos of the Johnson years
