Boris Johnson’s appointment as foreign minister: the embarrassing, the bad, the ugly ... and the solution

Boris Johnson’s appointment as UK Foreign Secretary has stunned a large number of people.  Those who voted Remain in the EU referendum are angry that someone who they regarded as spreading falsehoods and stirring up populist sentiment without a clear Brexit plan could be rewarded with such an important post.  As views differ on the rights and wrongs of the Brexit vote, I will focus here on Mr Johnson’s suitability for high office only on the basis of his litany of negative comments about foreigners.

Initially as a journalist, and more recently as an MP, Mr Johnson has:

a)      accused Barack Obama as being resentful of the UK because of his “half-Kenyan ancestry”,

b)      described Hillary Clinton as like a “sadistic mental nurse”,

c)       described Ugandans as “natives” who would do well to welcome back the UK as a colonial power in view of the mess in their country, as long as they did not later complain,

d)      likened President Putin of Russia to Dobby the elf, from Harry Potter,

e)      described Commonwealth citizens of Africa as “piccaninnies” (a derogatory term in the USA for black people) with “water-melon smiles”, and

f)       produced verse which described President Erdogan of Turkey as someone who has sexual relations with goats (together with obscene language about him).

A number of important senior politicians in allied countries have expressed shock and dismay at Mr Johnson’s appointment in the light of these comments. Mr Johnson has not acknowledged the reactions or apologised. Neither has Theresa May, the new Prime Minister of the UK. 

There is no doubt that Mr Johnson has used his talent for writing to say upsetting things about people from other countries.  There is no doubt that he, Theresa May and all Conservative MPs realise this.  There is no doubt that anyone in a professional job in the UK who said similar things would be in trouble with their employers.  I am a private tutor and I am sure I would lose clients if I published comments like Mr Johnson’s.

It is not normally possible to go through life upsetting many people and avoiding all the consequences, much less achieve stratospheric promotions.  But this is what has happened with Boris Johnson.  Can someone please tell me what is going on?

Actions and words have consequences.  These are some of the consequences I foresee in respect of Mr Johnson's words and his failure to apologise:

a)      A loss of goodwill from everyone and every group who has been insulted by Mr Johnson.  This includes the likely next president of the USA and a large number of representatives of nations who he has to deal with in his everyday work as Foreign Secretary;

b)      A corresponding loss of respect and negotiating strength with those people; if you insult someone, fail to apologise and then seek their cooperation, then the cost of that cooperation will significantly rise; this is human nature; Theresa May needs to acknowledge this issue to us and factor in the increased costs of such cooperation if she is serious about making a success of Brexit (her declared aim);

c)       Increased levels of distrust from everyone who Mr Johnson deals with; if he can think and say these things about certain groups of people, then what does he think about everyone else?  What has not been published?  Again, the costs of cooperation rises, even in respect of those who are not the victims of his insults;

d)      A loss of respect and goodwill towards Mr Johnson from the Civil Service as a whole, and the Foreign Office in particular; civil servants are professional and have to serve whomever is in power, however, they are human like the rest of us and we can expect that experienced and competent diplomats will be privately appalled at the thought of serving a political master who has an unapologetic track record of insulting people and nations around the world; Mr Johnson’s language would not be tolerated from even the most junior diplomat.  Mr Johnson has to earn the personal respect of those he works with, like everyone else;

e)      A huge loss of respect for Theresa May, both within the UK and across the world; whatever were the back room shenanigans which paved the way for Mr Johnson’s appointment (and subsequent immunity from criticism), Mrs May sanctioned them when she appointed him; she compromised her reputation and, worse still, she deservedly invites cynicism and contempt for her as a professional, and for her party, her government and the entire UK political system for as long as she refuses to engage with the public reaction to Mr Johnson’s appointment;

f)       An increase in alienation among the general public in respect of the political process; we have recently witnessed Tony Blair tell us that he would go to war again if he had a second chance, despite criticism from Lord Chilcott for not first exhausting non-violent means; we have seen a very divisive EU referendum campaign with very strong criticism of the truth of the claims made; there has been no acknowledgment of the fact that no one has voted for a government run by Theresa May, any of her ministers, or for whatever policy commitments she will now seek to implement. In the context of heavy criticisms of EU democratic processes, the hypocrisy of our growing home-grown democratic deficit is beginning to grate. Rock-bottom confidence in the political process is dropping further.

      On a more personal level, what is most worrying is not Mr Johnson’s comments in themselves, but his refusal to acknowledge that they are an issue. It is as if he and Ms May believe that they can ride out the barrage of criticism until they have some positive achievements to parade before us.  Then suddenly all will be well, and we will forget his past indiscretions.  But people who operate that way are not to be trusted: they have never grown up, always moving one from the wreckage of one mess to the next challenge before their past catches up with them.  Boris Johnson is this kind of character, and Theresa May is now complicit and co-dependent in his acting-out. As Tony Blair’s continued fall from grace demonstrates, deep down, people don’t really forget, even if they are a bit quieter during the good times.

      I once looked into the (very impressive) 12-step approaches to recovery from addiction of almost any type. Essential to the process of recovery from addiction is the acceptance of one’s mistakes.  Early on in the process are requirements for recovering addicts to set out an inventory of their faults, and then to take real steps to apologise and make practical amends for those mistakes, where possible.  This is effectively what parents and teachers teach children.  This is also what happens in the more unforgiving adult worlds of work and relationships where consequences can be more serious and long-lasting.  This is what Boris Johnson needs.  It’s painfully obvious.

      Please, someone, tell Boris Johnson that he needs to remove himself from the political scene for a long time and work on his stuff. I for one can’t bear watching this circus any longer.  Then Mrs May, please come clean with the nation, before our respect for you sinks any lower.