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Do Boris and Ken hate each other? Do Boris and Ken hate each other?
(40 minutes later)
Do Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson really like each other beneath the election veneer of mutual loathing, which saw a red-faced-with-anger London mayor call his predecessor and challenger Ken Livingstone "a fucking liar" three times in a lift after the first radio debate of the 2012 campaign yesterday? The two were said to have gone "nose to nose".Do Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson really like each other beneath the election veneer of mutual loathing, which saw a red-faced-with-anger London mayor call his predecessor and challenger Ken Livingstone "a fucking liar" three times in a lift after the first radio debate of the 2012 campaign yesterday? The two were said to have gone "nose to nose".
It's a fair question. Some politicians can tear great strips off each other in public, then put them in the Magimix and cook them, while retaining a private respect that could sometimes be called friendship. "Your opponents are in front of you, but your enemies are behind you," as the old saying goes.It's a fair question. Some politicians can tear great strips off each other in public, then put them in the Magimix and cook them, while retaining a private respect that could sometimes be called friendship. "Your opponents are in front of you, but your enemies are behind you," as the old saying goes.
Think Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Worsted by Blair, John Major disliked him as a shallow fellow, but plenty of Tories, David Cameron included, admired his skills and liked him. Blair liked Brown who sometimes liked him back, but mostly felt his old ally was an obstructive lightweight who stood between him and destiny. Few feel that now, Labour or Tory. Think Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Worsted by Blair, John Major disliked him as a shallow fellow, but plenty of Tories, David Cameron included, admired his skills and liked him. Blair liked Brown, who sometimes liked him back, but mostly felt his old ally was an obstructive lightweight who stood between him and destiny. Few feel that now, Labour or Tory.
Ken and Boris are trickier. In photographs they look vaguely companionable. Neither is a good hater; each has confounded so many enemies and is having too much fun to waste much time on hatred. There again, they fit each other's stereotype of a cad: the once-and-future mayor sees Boris as a lazy, over-entitled old-Etonian toff who is using County Hall to get into No 10. Boris sees Ken as a cynical lefty demagogue who panders to the bad guys, practises cronyism and (as in yesterday's spat) doesn't pay his fair share of tax (as Boris insists he does himself). Ken and Boris are trickier. In photographs they look vaguely companionable. Neither is a good hater; each has confounded so many enemies and is having too much fun to waste much time on hatred. There again, they fit each other's stereotype of a cad: the once-and-prospective mayor sees Boris as a lazy, over-entitled old-Etonian toff who is using County Hall to get into No 10. Boris sees Ken as a cynical lefty demagogue who panders to the bad guys, practises cronyism and (as in Tuesday's spat) doesn't pay his fair share of tax (as Boris insists he does himself).
Andrew Gimson, the mayor's biographer, believes that Johnson has developed "a hearty dislike" of Livingstone; one which wasn't there in 2008. On the other hand it is possible to detect a wistful admiration for the mayor in some of Ken's comments, lurking beneath the stuff about him being a jack-booted clown.Andrew Gimson, the mayor's biographer, believes that Johnson has developed "a hearty dislike" of Livingstone; one which wasn't there in 2008. On the other hand it is possible to detect a wistful admiration for the mayor in some of Ken's comments, lurking beneath the stuff about him being a jack-booted clown.
The comprehensive schoolboy from South London may envy that easy Etonian charm. He certainly believes Boris will lead the Tory party one day. In the run-up to the 2008 elections, he admitted that if Boris was as successful with women as his reputation suggests, he might win because courting votes is a bit like courting women. (It is not as if Ken is a monk.) The comprehensive schoolboy from south London may envy that easy Etonian charm. He certainly believes Boris will lead the Tory party one day. In the run-up to the 2008 elections, he admitted that if Boris was as successful with women as his reputation suggests, he might win because courting votes is a bit like courting women. (It is not as if Ken is a monk.)
One thing is certain: when ambition is over, whatever loathing may now exist will subside. Former mayors of London, like former PMs, have more in common with other holders of an exposed and lonely office than they do with the rest of us. For Ken and Boris, that moment is still distant – though not as distant as it may be for Boris and the current tenant of No 10.One thing is certain: when ambition is over, whatever loathing may now exist will subside. Former mayors of London, like former PMs, have more in common with other holders of an exposed and lonely office than they do with the rest of us. For Ken and Boris, that moment is still distant – though not as distant as it may be for Boris and the current tenant of No 10.