London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

As Italians openly mock BoJo, he should forget about comparisons with Churchill and simply try to hold on to his job

As Italians openly mock BoJo, he should forget about comparisons with Churchill and simply try to hold on to his job

The demise of Boris Johnson is hard to watch as his attempts to fend off criticism are met with derision. Barbs from Italy ridiculing his worship of Winston Churchill and mishandling of Covid are the latest blow.
Anyone with the sensibility to care for a pet can understand the conflict among Spaniards towards la corrida – the bullfight – which to the uninitiated seems like inhuman torture of a poor, dumb beast, but which to aficionados is a mesmerising, irresistible spectacle of life versus death.

Boris Johnson’s current travails bear parallels. A proud, hefty bull borne from great British stock, he entered the political ring as a PM full of life, scraping his glossy black hooves in the sand and snorting belligerent contempt for conformity, determined to bend the establishment toreadors to his will.

It hasn’t quite worked out that way, and he’s now showing signs of being on his last legs, mocked by the raucous crowd of public opinion, tormented by the media and political picadors, and finally humiliated at the hands of fellow matadors facing their own struggles in arenas elsewhere.

Like the real thing, it’s hard to watch.

The Italians are the latest to draw blood after BoJo attempted to pass off public defiance of coronavirus restrictions in the UK as some sort of celebrated national British characteristic, rather than boneheaded ignorance and downright selfishness.

He suggested the rate of Covid-19 infection in the UK was higher than that of Italy and Germany because the Brits loved freedom more. That ruse did not quite work.

Instead, the Italians saw it for what it was and went on the attack. Usually mild-mannered President Sergio Mattarella declared his citizens “also love freedom, but we also care about seriousness.” The inference being that BoJo is not. Serious, that is.

Which would wound at this point, because in his latest appeal to the British public he has invoked the spirit of one of his predecessors, Winston Churchill: the idea that we must all stick together for the greater good. It is BoJo’s go-to position when he needs to rally the nation.

Lord knows, he must have spent hours and hours poring over the wartime leader’s personal documents and scribblings before penning his 432-page ‘The Churchill Factor’, described by the reviewer at The Daily Telegraph, the newspaper where BoJo formerly worked, as “a tour de force.” Unfortunately for Boris, not everyone buys the bluster.

Italian journalists joined the fray this week, picking and poking at the British leader, exploiting weaknesses in his defence. Journalist Massimo Gramellini, writing in Corriere della Sera, struck hard: “In short, if we put masks on here more than in London it’s because we had Mussolini and not Churchill.”

He countered the PM’s defence of UK refuseniks, saying: “Having rigid rules today represents real liberty, normality comes with following the rules and not following them, in my opinion, is contrary to future freedom.”

Suddenly, everyone’s emboldened enough to pile in on a bloodied and bowed Boris who seems incapable of mounting a robust defence. He is weakened by the debilitating effects of his own personal battle with Covid-19, alleged struggles with money and family, the interminable demands of a nation in a public health crisis and the seeming inability to navigate a way through this mess with the authority required.

Back in the bullring, he is on his knees, breathing heavily, bleeding into the sand and looking for an escape while trying to figure out the next move of his murderous tormentor, in the guise of Covid-19.

Churchill certainly had his struggles, private and public, but nothing quite like this. We wait to see if BoJo can survive as the crowd bays for blood.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×