I BELIEVE that, in her commentary on the life and times of Boris Johnson, Alison Rowat allowed her obvious personal dislike of him to show ("Boris: Farewell and good riddance to all that hot air ", The Herald July 12). She refers, for example, to his "doorstop" biography of Winston Churchill (the book was well-received in a number of literary circles) and the fact that he had the best private education "money could buy" (that was hardly his fault).
She commends Theresa May when holding her political actions up in comparison with those of Mr Johnson. She has "held on" and Ms Rowat expresses the opinion that "in time we may yet be grateful for her efforts". I hope that she is right in that respect, but I doubt it. There are a number of things in Mr Johnson’s life which justify criticisms, and probably he himself may feel, in at least some of them, he fell short in terms of what would be regarded as acceptable behaviour.
However, I believe that Ms Rowat’s piece lacked balance. Mr Johnson is a popular figure with many people in this country. He is a man capable of exerting considerable influence nationally, as the outcome of the EU referendum illustrated. He was elected as Mayor of London twice and served as Mayor during the 2012 Olympics in London. Much has been made in the media recently of Mr Johnson’s relationship with President Trump. Mr Johnson was once described as being "Donald Trump with a thesaurus". Maybe these two large personalities share another trait – they are not totally without merit.
Ian W Thomson,
38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.
ALISON Rowat asks where Boris Johnson’s career is heading now. The thought occurred that perhaps he is pondering his decision to renounce his US citizenship several years ago (tax reasons, apparently).
Would it not be delicious for us glee-starved mortals if President Trump appointed Boris to be Ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James? Turmoil in the UK? If this happened, then you aint seen nuthin’ yet!
And Scotland? All Scottish party leaders have given out negative vibes on both men, but Ruth Davidson’s recorded opinions on The Donald and Boris would require a whole page of expletives deleted, and asterisks.
Sadly it could only happen in some fake news universe.
GR Weir,
17 Mill Street,
Ochiltree.
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