New British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson: Why was the 'clown' chosen?

(Baonghean)- Right after winning the “one-horse race”, when choosing the cabinet, the new British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Boris Johnson - the Brexit leader to the position of Foreign Secretary. This is perhaps the most surprising decision and has caused a lot of controversy. Is the new Prime Minister’s reason to rely on Boris Johnson’s eloquence to negotiate the most beneficial separation from the EU, and at the same time want him to “clean up” the post-Brexit rubble?

Portrait of new British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Photo: Internet.

Boris Johnson was born into a prominent family. His father, Stanley Johnson, was a politician and poet who won many awards at Oxford University. His mother, Charlotte Johnson Wahl, was a painter and politician.

At the age of 25, Stanley received a scholarship and decided to move to the United States with his new wife to study Creative Writing at the University of Iowa, then he transferred to the prestigious Columbia University to study Economics. On June 19, 1964, baby boy Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was born in a hospital in New York City.

From an early age, Boris was taught by Stanley Johnson the humorous and lively personality of the Turkish minority - the ancestors of the family. Along with his three younger siblings Jo, Rachel and Leo, Boris was always encouraged by his parents to read books to enrich his knowledge.

In addition, his congenital deafness led Boris to seek books as friends, and he later admitted that the habit of reading books from a young age helped him a lot during his time working in the journalism industry later. Possessing a sharp mind and a huge amount of knowledge compared to his peers, Boris once expressed his dream of becoming a "king of the world".

At the age of 8, Boris started going to school because his hearing had partially recovered after undergoing ear surgery. At school, everyone's impression of Boris was a platinum-haired boy with intelligent and studious qualities but quite quiet. The subjects that Boris was most highly rated in were Ancient Greek history and Latin.

In April 1973, the Johnson family moved to Brussels (Belgium) when Mr. Stanley was appointed Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Project of the European Commission (EC). Here, he attended a school in the Uccle area of ​​Brussels and began to learn French. However, school in Belgium was not a happy memory for Boris.

Witnessing many classmates being beaten by teachers, Boris became disgusted with school and school violence. Boris's life became even more boring when his parents divorced in 1980. After completing the legal procedures, Charlotte and her children returned to England and lived in a small apartment in Notting Hill, London.

At the age of 13, Boris was awarded a King's Scholarship to study at Eton College, one of England's most prestigious independent schools. Eton has a long list of distinguished alumni, including 19 former British Prime Ministers.

Eton is considered the "prime cradle of British statesmen" and has been described as one of the most famous public schools in the world. Eton was also the birthplace of the friendship between Boris Johnson and David Cameron, who later rose to prominence as British Prime Minister.

New Prime Minister Theresa May believes Boris Johnson will lead the British negotiating team to the most victories. Photo: Telegraph.

Thanks to his excellent academic performance, Boris Johnson went on to win a scholarship to Oxford University, the dream of every Eton student. Here, Johnson did not take long to assert himself. Boris even held the role of editor-in-chief of a satirical magazine in the school and became President of the Oxford Union, the most prestigious student association in the school.

After graduating, Boris Johnson worked in the media industry thanks to his eloquence and excellent writing skills. In 1987, Johnson was officially accepted by The Times as a trainee reporter, before becoming a strong writer thanks to his outstanding talent.

Shortly after, Boris Johnson was fired for giving false information about King Edward II's palace. But very quickly, Boris Johnson got a new job at The Daily Telegraph. His articles are known for their unique literary style, decorated with natural expression, humor and closeness to the readers. In addition to journalism, Johnson is also the author of several books that have received positive responses from readers, and also movies...

Johnson's political career really took off when he became Mayor of London after defeating his opponent Ken Livingston in the 2008 election. Despite doubts about Johnson's leadership ability due to his strange appearance and "fat" body like a bear, the politician with dual British and American citizenship has increasingly proven that he is a worthy leader of the British capital. The proof is that 4 years later, Johnson was re-elected with a fairly large margin of votes against his opponent Livingstone.

One of the achievements of his eight years in office was the introduction of a city-wide bike hire scheme. The Boris bikes, named after the mayor, helped to build an image of London as a friendly and environmentally conscious place.

In addition, the abandoned tunnels in London have also been turned into an underground network for cyclists and pedestrians by Johnson to reduce the load on the capital's streets. The image of the city leader dressed simply and often cycling to work has certainly left a good impression on the hearts of Londoners.

As a talkative and humorous person, Johnson is not immune to moments of “slip of the tongue”. In 2008, he had to apologize for racist comments when referring to black people as “little children”. Or on another occasion, the former Mayor of London caused a wave of controversy after saying that US President Barack Obama had revealed his Kenyan “un-British” ancestry when he tried to “interfere” with the UK’s EU referendum plan…

Returning to the referendum on June 24, with the leadership of the Brexit movement, despite all the efforts of his friend David Cameron, Boris Johnson's side narrowly won. Immediately after the results were announced, Brexit really created an "earthquake" that shook not only the UK but also the world in all fields.

And when Prime Minister Cameron had to resign, many people thought that Boris Johnson's path to 10 Downing Street (the British Prime Minister's residence) was only a matter of time. However, on June 30 - a week after the British people voted to leave the EU, Boris Johnson suddenly withdrew from the race.

At that time, experts said that the reason Boris Johnson made such a decision was because he realized that his chances of winning the British Prime Minister election had decreased after an ally in the Brexit campaign, Justice Minister Michael Gove, turned his back on him and announced that he would also run for Prime Minister.

His decision also caused a wave of public discontent because they thought it was wrong to support him, a man who did not dare to become the captain of a sinking ship, and did not want to clean up the "wreckage" he himself created.

It was thought that the name Boris Johnson would soon fall into oblivion because he had "abandoned his property and fled", but right after the UK had a new prime minister, Boris Johnson was once again the most mentioned name in Theresa May's cabinet.

So why did Prime Minister Theresa May choose Boris Johnson for the position of Foreign Secretary - an extremely sensitive position at this time. Because from now on, the negotiation process of the UK's exit from the EU will enter a very tense phase. How to minimize damage in all areas such as economy, defense, security... is something that the British people and countries in the UK are very concerned about.

Surely, in Theresa May's mind, with her resounding achievements as Mayor of London, and with the intelligence, experience, and eloquence of a famous journalist, Boris Johnson will lead the British negotiating team to the most victories.

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