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Being a bit of a political theory nerd, Johnson’s promises - often incompatible or unachievable - called to my mind this famous chapter in Machiavelli’s “Prince”. ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/machiavelli/…
“Nevertheless our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft, and in the end have overcome those who have relied on their word.”
Looks good for Johnson.
But: “it is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic, and to be a great pretender and dissembler”.
And: “it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always to observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful;
to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.”
And “a prince ought to take care that he never lets anything slip from his lips that is not replete with the above-named five qualities, that he may appear to him who sees and hears him altogether merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious.”
Johnson’s performance on this appearance front is a bit ... mixed.
But perhaps he need not be too concerned: “men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived”.
I suspect that we can take “men” to include Tory MPs and party members of both sexes.
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By the way, Machiavelli is clear - especially in “The Discourses” - that great political leaders - those who have “gloria” - are those that strive for the good of their city, not themselves.
