There has been loose talk on social media depicting Boris Johnson as a potential "fascist" (whatever that word might be taken to mean), but I do not agree. I think the most interesting parallel is with the Emperor Napoleon III in mid-19th century France. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the nephew of the great man, displayed impressive cunnning and ingenuity, plus a huge helping of luck, in being elected President of the French Republic after the revolution of 1848, and then a few years later staging a coup and proclaiming himself Emperor. But, having achieved supreme power, he appeared to have no clear idea of what he wanted to do with it! He has always been a puzzle to historians, one of whom dubbed him, "The sphinx without a secret". I think this mirrors Boris Johnson's situation today.
Eventually, the Emperor Napoleon III blundered into a quite unnecessary war with Bismarck's Germany. He had left France without allies, was crushingly defeated, and ended his days in exile in England. Opponents of Boris Johnson might be asking themselves: where is today's equivalent of Bismarck?
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