Faced with accusations of domestic trouble, the traditional role of the wife or partner of a Tory MP – from Judith Mellor onwards – is to pose uncomfortably for pictures showing unity with their “loving” husband.
In that sense, the apparently staged pictures of Boris Johnson and his girlfriend Carry Symonds holding hands and gazing into each others eyes has the cynical smack of a propaganda exercise from Stalinist Russia.
But the deeper cynicism is not the “snatched” shots of the couple, which would be worthy of fake celebrity photographer Alison Jackson – it is the avoidance of scrutiny on this or any other aspect of his life and politics.
Johnson is keen to be seen on a sun-kissed meadow but is less enthusiastic about answering questions on how the hell he thinks he can take Britain out of the EU with a deal before October 31 – especially after he promised again yesterday that he would happily lead the country out with no deal.
Silence has worked until now but it cannot be maintained by selective interviews with conditions attached.
Soon he must come up for air and when he does, like phosphorous, he will ignite on contact.
