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By Freddie Reidy
There are a few leaders whose resignations could be seen as inevitable, just two years after securing his party's biggest win in 32 years. But there are few leaders like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Nevertheless when revelations had emerged over his mishandling of disciplinary actions taken against a Member of Parliament (MP) that Johnson appointed as the deputy chief whip. The MP in question stands accused of sexually harassing two individuals at a private members' club. News of the mishandling a response to the incidents in question had led to a slew of ministerial resignations, which Johnson's team could not quash.
But how did it all go so wrong for a leader who appeared so popular with the country, only two short years ago?
Johnson is responsible for a litany of unforced errors, such as instructing government colleagues to back an MP mired in a corruption scandal, a lack of transparency over the renovations to his Downing Street apartment, in addition to the so-called Party-gate allegations that led to a police fine over a breach on lock-down rules. Yet, it is arguably not these blunders, which are to blame for his resignation on July 7.
The prime minister is one of a small number of politicians to whom such wounds would not be fatal, a fact which fostered a false sense of invincibility on his part. Like the "rogue trader" Nick Leeson, who brought down Barings Bank in the 1990s, Johnson's instincts over escaping from the "noose" more than once had inspired him to keep trying his luck. For both men, events would finally catch up with them.
The seeds of Johnson's failure though do not lie with a fluid relationship with the rules and conventions that normally bind a British prime minister, but rather his pathway to becoming the leader.
Johnson's election as the Mayor of London in 2008 was the first major stepping stone in David Cameron's pathway to the premiership and many looked to Johnson as a future leader. The man affectionately referred to as, "Boris" pursued a centrist political agenda during his two terms as the mayor, a well-known Labour Party-stronghold.
Nonetheless, the issue of the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union, which became the Brexit referendum, had provided Johnson with an alternate path to power.
While David Cameron pledged not to contest another election, Johnson decided to join and lead the opposing pro-Brexit movement, which would emerge victorious.
Hence, Johnson was aligned with those on the right wing of the party. While losing to Theresa May in the subsequent leadership election, May opted to challenge Johnson to put his campaign promises to the test and he was appointed as the foreign secretary.
Divisions soon arose and Johnson resigned, months later after May's government collapsed amid a Brexit deadlock. With May gone, Boris' ascension was all but secured. Meanwhile, the Brexit campaign team was his power-base, even though having alienated many former colleagues across the party and expelling others.
Johnson would go on to secure his landmark electoral victory against weak opposition and on the ticket of "breaking the Brexit deadlock," but his tenure would forever be wedded to defending Brexit and continuing to appeal to his base, while alienating much of the 48 percent of the country who voted to remain.
Johnson's isolation saw him appoint a right-wing cabinet of loyalists, which placed him on a footing he never looked comfortable with. The scars of the Brexit campaign remained, and he seemed incapable of reaching out across his own party for support let alone the country. Johnson's government would instead double down on providing "red meat" to its new supporters.
For many party members and MPs, the man who had for so long charmed party conferences with his rhetorical prowess was turning out to be the Wizard of Oz. May had tested Johnson by appointing him the foreign secretary, but it would be too late for her before colleagues peered behind the curtain and found only a showman without a soul.
Had the prime minister waited for David Cameron to step down, things could have been much different for him. Johnson could have built on a political platform he was more comfortable with, retaining his broad support base and bringing true energy and dynamism.
Instead, his impatience led him to making a deal with the devil and those energies were channeled into just staying afloat. But even a man with Johnson's considerable energies will ultimately be overcome by the battering of the waves and changing of the tides.
Freddie Reidy is a freelance writer based in London. He studied history and history of art at the University of Kent, Canterbury, specializing in Russian history and international politics.
