Bozo Tone Deafness DECODED

Delivered to a less than full venue yesterday afternoon, the keynote speech to the Tories’ spring conference by alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was enthusiastically trailed by his adoring fans. Well, up to a point: while the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog told “Watch Live: Boris’s Spring Conference Speech”, there was no further commentary. It did not take long to find why.

That speech sounds fishy, because ...

Ben Quinn of the Guardian had the key soundbite: "Boris Johnson compares Ukraine's fight for freedom to "the British people voting for Brexit 'in large numbers’ … ‘it was because they wanted to be free to do things differently, for this country to be able to do things differently and run itself’”. That wasn’t just bad - it was made so much worse by the knowledge that it was a scripted remark, which must have been approved beforehand.

How did Brits working in the EU feel about that? Alex Taylor concluded “Words fail me that this loathsome man actually just compared the Ukrainian people's current quest for freedom to the UK voting for Brexit. Just when you thought he couldn't sink to new depths”. And guess what? "Absolute pleasure to welcome the Ukrainian Ambassador [Vadym Prystaiko] to Spring Conference to watch [Boris Johnson]’s brilliant speech”.

Yes, Bozo made his crass and insensitive comment in front of the Ukrainian ambassador. Bonnie Greer was unimpressed. "I hope that the [EU] do not invite [Boris Johnson] to join their session with [Joe Biden] next week. He has told them that he will be in [Brussels] (for [NATO]) and awaiting an invitation. I hope that they keep him waiting”.

She may not be hoping in vain this time. Donald Tusk was also unimpressed: “Boris Johnson likens Ukrainians’ fight to British people voting for Brexit. I can still remember the enthusiasm of Putin and Trump after the referendum. Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense”. And Carl Bildt went there: “This is truly disgraceful. Despicable. Any thought of inviting this man to an [EU] summit should be shelved”.

So why do something so crass, so insensitive, so flat-out stupid? Anne Applebaum was on the right track: “He is doing this because he knows Brexit is a disaster, it has isolated Britain, made Britain poorer, less influential. He needs extreme forms of hyperbole to cover the gap between that reality and the false utopia that he and others promised”.

Also, the Tories have Lynton Crosby back in the fold, which means that not only is Bozo indulging in extreme hyperbole, he is deploying one hell of a dead cat. So today, few are talking about the Russian connections, the equally crass Partygate comments by the member for times long past Jacob Rees Mogg, and rather less about the impending cost of living crisis that they might. For Bozo, then, this is job done.

He blusters his way through another news cycle. He deploys another dead cat as he claims that Labour would “raise the white flag to Putin”. More pundit outrage. But despite the speech being given before a half-empty hall, the audience at which the Tories are aiming their propaganda has got the message loud and clear.

... it's one of these

That audience is the right-leaning part of our free and fearless press, who now have the green light to smear Labour, and anyone else opposed to Bozo, as unpleasantly and as often as they like. Just so enough of the electorate can be conned into voting Tory.

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