Boris Johnson may be gone but he can still make or break the Tory party

I was POSSIBLY the first to use the phrase “salesman’s remorse” during a TalkTV interview the day Boris surrendered to the mob.

But it wasn’t a great clairvoyant feat. Anyone in their right mind could imagine that an unattached BoJo outside of Number Ten would grow even larger than he was as Prime Minister.

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If he was unruly within the constraints of high office, just watch him go once he’s relieved of executive accountability.

Boris is a force of nature whose freedom to enjoy power without responsibility has only just been unleashed.

It’s not automatically good news for the next prime minister – likely Liz Truss – the fourth in six years.

Boris has achieved the legendary status of a tragic giant felled by treacherous pygmies.

His departure will mean no peace between these two irreconcilable factions.

Indeed, in the final days of this competition, there has been an ominous outburst of finger pointing among the Tories, who want the race to be canceled and the real king returned to his stolen throne.

That fantasy can’t come true – and it shouldn’t.

Restoring the crown would be a disaster for the Conservative Party, for the country and for Boris himself.

Despite his Terminator-style “Hasta la vista, baby,” there’s no turning back.

This will not stop the Tory blame game until it risks ending not only the next Prime Minister but also the government’s faint hope of retaining power.

Unless Boris himself puts an end to the conspiracy.

I am assuming here that the polls are correct and the new prime minister will not be Rishi Sunak. Otherwise all bets are off.

How could a Boris-loving party reconcile with the man they rightly or wrongly blame for his downfall?

But despite what looks like a landslide victory, not everyone in the Conservative Party loves Lizzie.

For various reasons, dozens of Tory MPs have refused public support. So a significant minority is indecisive at best and hostile at worst.

Some will be waiting for her to unveil her new cabinet and announce steps to save vulnerable households from the cost-of-living tsunami.

What will it do about the tide of illegal immigration that is making a laughingstock of our borders? Or to prevent the collapse of the NHS this winter?

Truss will need all the help she can get.

Will Boris be a fairy godmother, the leader of his protégé’s fan club, or an evil leprechaun looking over her shoulder like Margaret Thatcher, the famous ‘backseat driver’?

Impressive allies

In four weeks the next leader faces her first Tory conference – a test for any new prime minister.

It would be tempting for Boris to steal the limelight – and there will be plenty of that from his adoring fans.

There will be queues around the Birmingham International Center and a standing ovation before he even enters the arena.

But while BoJo may play the buffoon, he’s no fool.

He knows the assassins who brought him down are not starmers in the media or in the toothless Labor Party led by “Captain Crasheroonie Snoozefest”.

They are the remainers in his own party, who have never forgiven him for Brexit.

He can prove them wrong by supporting Liz Truss and throwing his considerable weight behind the party in the next general election, maybe next year.

Defeat is not inevitable. A decline in inflation is forecast for 2023. The economy is not doomed to recession. Liz Truss has formidable allies.

She is poised to nurture emerging talent, with Suella Braverman as the new Home Secretary to deal with illegal immigration. And Kemi Badenoch as Head of Education to bring discipline back into the classroom.

Tough action on energy bills, the NHS, illegal immigration and street violence could quickly turn the tide.

If so, Labor’s leadership would evaporate like summer rain.
It’s entirely possible that the Tories will win a fifth term as record winners.

Boris would deserve credit for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

He would face the future with a legacy as a benevolent statesman loved by all as an ex-world king.

Well, he can dream, can’t he?