Monday 22 November 2021
Prime Minister growls in bizarre speech
Johnson compares himself to Moses
The British prime minister gives a speech in front of industry representatives and causes great astonishment among his listeners. Boris Johnson chats enthusiastically about his recent visit to the Peppa Pig World theme park. In addition, there is a communism comparison and a dropout.
In a speech to business leaders, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson compared himself to Moses, quoted Lenin, imitated engine noises and raved about a visit to a theme park. In between he lost the thread for seconds at the annual conference of the industrial association CBI and flipped through his documents, as reported by the British media. Listeners described the speech as “catastrophic” or “bizarre”.
Johnson said his ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution is similar to the Ten Commandments that Moses brought with him from Mount Sinai. “Lenin once said that the communist revolution is the Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country. The coming industrial revolution is green electricity plus the electrification of the whole country.”
Johnson also promoted electric drives. “As a former auto correspondent, I can tell you that electric cars may not hum like cooing pigeons and might not have the growl, growl, raa raa that you love, but they have so much torque that they start faster than a Ferrari at the traffic lights.”
For minutes, Johnson then praised the Peppa Pig World theme park near Southhampton, which he had visited with his family the day before and which is based on the cartoon character Peppa Pig. There are safe roads, discipline in schools and a good local transport system, he praised. A pig that “looks like a Picasso-like hair dryer” has become an export hit. For him, it shows the power of British creativity, said Johnson and urged the audience to visit the park, which is a six-hour drive away.
It’s not the first time that Johnson has come across with bizarre comparisons. At the UN General Assembly in New York, for example, he referred to Kermit the frog. Such speeches are part of Johnson’s shirt-sleeved leadership style that goes down well with many Britons.