Boris Johnson's charm offensive
Activer le mode zenDave Hill
"Reports that Boris Johnson has shut down mayoral offices in Delhi and Mumbai will have brought forth shrieks of vindictive delight from Ken Livingstone-haters everywhere, but only those - those many, I suspect - who aren't up to speed with the record of Ken's nemesis since he took power and even before. Boris's 2008 election campaign majored on the themes of Livingstonian arrogance, grandeur and waste, and at first those "embassies" in not only India but China and Venezuela too were depicted as prime examples.
"That changed abruptly during a mayoral hustings in the glistening offices of super-accountants KPMG. The occasion was distinguished by the company's then-chairman Ian Barlow getting to his feet to defend Ken's "foreign policy extravagance" as being rather good for London business.
"The Boris line veered audibly. Barlow is now on the board of the London Development Agency, chairs the inward investment agency Think London (which the LDA partly funds) and sits on the mayor's Promote London Council, formed last June to consider how to concentrate the marketing of London with the 2012 Olympics much in mind."
Pour citer cette ressource :
"Boris Johnson's charm offensive", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), novembre 2010. Consulté le 25/04/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/archives/archives-revue-de-presse/boris-johnson-s-charm-offensive