Cameron fears 'loose cannon' Johnson will hit his hopes of winning the next election
I said yesterday that it had occurred to me that the election of Boris Johnson might come to be something which David Cameron regrets and, already, stories are appearing the broadsheets saying that Cameron has realised the danger which Boris represents to him and to the newly re-branded Conservative party.
The last thing which Cameron needs is for the Tories to be seen as bumbling, incoherent and class driven; all of the qualities which define Boris. But, it now appears that Cameron is only just coming to terms with the differences between what Boris promised in order to win the election, and what Cameron is promising if the public elect a new Tory government.
David Cameron is running for office on a pledge to make the environment central to his campaign in order to prove that this really is a different kind of Conservative party. Much has been made of the fact that Cameron himself lives in a "green" house and cycles to work every day.Mr Johnson's performance as the most powerful elected Conservative in Britain since John Major's 1992 victory could decide the outcome of the next election and shape the course of politics for the coming decade.
And his pledge to water down the capital's congestion charge scheme and protect drivers of high-polluting cars threatens to clash with the central theme of Mr Cameron's blueprint for power: the environment. Other areas of contention include immigration.
It is hard to reconcile that with Boris' pledge to reduce the congestion charge and protect drivers of high-polluting cars. Indeed, as I quoted recently, Boris has been known to say:
"Tee hee, I said to myself ... out of my way, small car driven by ordinary person on modest income. Make way for the Nissan Murano."Boris has almost made an issue out of his lack of political correctness and is, in many ways, the antithesis to Cameron's carefully constructed caring Conservative. It is typical of Boris, for example, that on election day his supporters had been drinking champagne and eating oysters on the top floor of Millbank, above Tory party headquarters, since 5pm – more than six hours before the result was announced. That is not the kind of behaviour one expects from people soon to be charged with running a city of 7.5 million people.
And yet, until the next election, Boris will be as much the face of Cameron's Conservative party as Cameron himself. That must be a daunting prospect for Cameron as the gaffe prone new Mayor will have every opportunity to seriously undermine him.
It is even being said in today's papers that Cameron never actually expected Boris to win.
But there is distinct unease at what lies in store from the Johnson mayoralty. Friends say Mr Cameron regards his fellow Old Etonian as an "amusing liability" and a few months ago never believed he would win the race.A liability he certainly is, although I think he was only considered an "amusing liability" as long as he held no actual power. Yesterday, all of that changed.
He is now charged with running one of the most important cities in the world and, whilst he will undoubtedly enjoy a honeymoon period, there will come a day when Londoners seriously ask him to discharge his civic duty. If he fails to come up to the task it will be remembered that it was Cameron who proposed him for the job and that it was Cameron who talked him into running.
Even Boris didn't think Londoners would be stupid enough to elect him. But now they have. And both they - and David Cameron's Tory party - will have to live with the consequences of that.One friend said the lack of other contenders for the Tory ticket last year had contributed to Mr Johnson becoming the "accidental Mayor". Another said last night: "No one really believed this would happen. He [Cameron] didn't exactly have an embarras de candidats last year."
One of those present when the candidates were told the result, just before it was announced publicly, said of Mr Johnson: "I have never seen anyone look so shell-shocked. He looked awful, a real 'Oh my God' look. He looked as if he'd really lost it. He really never expected to win."
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