Boris Johnson is making boring politics look attractive

THINGS ARE never dull around Boris Johnson. Since 2019 the prime minister has led the Conservatives to their biggest vote-share since 1979, shaken up politics, taken Britain out of the European Union, endured a pandemic, nearly died, had a child, struck a trade deal with the EU, got married, had another child, and seen his net approval rating swing from +40 to -51 after revelations about potentially illegal parties in 10 Downing Street. His repeated dishonesty—and a police investigation into the high jinks, launched on January 25th—make them the most damaging in a series of scandals. Others include scrounging £53,000 ($72,000) from donors to redecorate his residence and trying to prorogue Parliament illegally. If Napoleon was history on horseback, Mr Johnson is history on a pantomime horse.