Genuine reasons for wanting Boris Johnson as prime minister?

[Mummoomoocow]

I draw a blank at the question, I cannot understand why the media have him as the favourite.

Can someone enlighten me? Genuinely?

I’m not a fan, but my best guess is:

Tory MPs including a lot of Remain MPs - because they think he has the best chance of ‘saving’ the Tory Party, by attracting people back from Brexit party and appealing to electorate through popularity (a few comments on him being a proven vote winner regarding London Mayor)

Media - I get the impression he’s known and quite well liked - writes for telegraph and spectator, and it was interesting watching Laura Kuennsberg’s documentary, she seemed to get on well with him on a personal level.

This should be a short thread!

There aren't any.

Everybody loves a Labrador? No other possible explanation.

He's announced his policies at the weekend and they are quite people-pleasing. And he's popular abroad.

My boyfriend wants him or Gove simply because he's a Lib Dem member and thinks they will destroy the Tory party.

Politicians care about Party above all else, including country. BoJo is most likely to keep the Tories in power due to being a posh buffoon with charisma that the average voter will be drawn to. That is why he is favourite.

In a post-truth world his weaknesses won’t harm his attraction to voters.

Is it reasonable to think that Tory’s want him to take the poison chalice as he’s such a buffoon, he could be shown as personally at fault for the country going to pot now?

Seems to me the Tories are hell bent on ripping their party into pieces "Mnbb", so I'm not sure that old BoJo will be any better at keeping them together than his predecessors. Europe has always been their self-destruct button and that little issue isn't going anywhere fast! That shiny ham, Cameron opened Pandora's box and all the Tory evils spilt out into the political world and we are literally left only with hope, which I doubt very much is going to come from the Tories!

@margotlovebutter

“Shiny Ham Cameron”
I shook with laughter.

But is it “naice” ham?

His fluffy hair, innit. Can’t think of a single other thing it could be.

Because he's the best of a really bad bunch

I think people are confusing well known with ability.

He is really really really not popular abroad. He was a terrible Foreign Secretary.

Putting moderates off and voting for any party other than the Conservatives ...

He is not a buffoon. Don’t let this loveable idiot front confuse you.

He’s not a Labrador, he’s a dangerous scheming wolf dressed up.

I'm not a fan, but

• the Labrador / upper class buffoon / loveable idiot thing, some people find this charismatic
• he's well known, which makes people assume he'll win
• he's right wing so might stop some voters going to the Brexit Party instead
• he might make a good "fall guy" to take in the poisoned chalice of Brexit

Because he has brand recognition?

If he won, there would be a tiny little bit of me looking forward to seeing how he tries to brazen out Brexit. I don't think he has any belief in Brexit and he is well aware of the harms of leaving the EU particularly in a haphazard way. He cares very much for his own career though and won't want to trigger any kind of crisis which will damage his career, but whatever you do with Brexit it could potentially wreck his career. I'm curious what he would do next.

If he was inclined to, I think he could bring enough Brexiters around to supporting either a rebranded "Boris Withdrawal Agreement" or a Brexit In Name Only. But only if that suited him. If he thought charging on with an unplanned No Deal Brexit was best for him, he would do that. He's a dangerous quantity.

Because he has character and we live in a world of 24/7 reality TV.

Because he is a Brexiter.

I dislike the idea of choosing for both of the reasons above and, in addition to his recent announcement that I will save a fortune in tax whne he is PM, where on earth is that going to be replaced to fund the public services it currently funds?

Boris is beyond principle. He is neither for nor against Brexit he's simply doing what's best for Boris. If things change, he'll change his mind.

And he's popular abroad.

Really? What's that opinion based on? I'm 'abroad', and he's considered a buffoon here, the worst kind of cynic because he treats the whole thing like a joke despite the fact that the consequences for many people (although, crucially, not him) will be very very real.
I can't imagine he's very popular in Brussels, either, given the way he reported on the EU during his time as a 'journalist'.

The only one I can think of is to avoid Corbyn being PM.

He'll be that dire, so that the Cons are voted out at the first opportunity. He seems ever so dim.

Yeah brand recognition due to the wiff waff wankery.
Media like him so the shit won't stick.
I hope he doesn't become PM but if he does then I am quite interested in how long he will last, what will be the trigger for him stepping down or getting ousted, and how he will be thought of as a PM in future years. If he is clever and scheming enough to stay friends with the right people in the media and government then he might last a long time and shitty behaviour and incompetence might be forgotten forever, which will be quite annoying. He's such a selfish amoral bullshitter I can't stand the sight or sound of him.