It's working. Boris Johnson’s Last Man Standing strategy has left him on the brink of becoming the most powerful man in the country.
Johnson has stayed largely – scandalously – silent, allowing his rivals who have fronted up, as you should do in a democracy, to fall by the wayside.
He has played on the paucity of political opposition along with the nation’s pre-occupation with football, Love Island and moaning on Twitter instead of taking action.
Johnson has also capitalised on Labour’s inability to blow a Tory party locked in civil war to pieces on issues such xenophobia and the austerity that led to Brexit.
Yet he is a man who described black people as “piccaninnies” and “tribal warriors” with “watermelon smiles”.
A man who has doubled down on his description of Muslim women wearing the burqa as “letter boxes” and “bank robbers”.
How does Johnson even consider catering for that section of his electorate should he make it into No. 10? Vote Leave triumphed in the EU referendum after Johnson spoke of nearly 80 million Turks potentially heading our way.
Too many TV and radio outlets have allowed proxies to speak on his behalf as he cowers in fear of the further public scrutiny his record cries out for.
Channel Four left his platform vacant for Sunday’s debate while LBC’s Eddie Mair stood out as the other glimmer of hope with his insistence last week that if Johnson “won’t speak for himself on my show, no one else will.”
Quite right too.
The suffering continues for ordinary people after the divisive rhetoric that has played to Johnson’s gallery for so long.
Their concerns centre around feeding their loved ones, while Johnson promises tax cuts for the rich.
Also, around feeling safe in their own homes after families like Jackson Yamba’s had “No blacks” scrawled on their front door in Manchester four months ago.
There are consequences to a man like Johnson rising to power.
No wonder so many are afraid.
