Boris’s rhetoric is not some kind of foreign tissue grafted on top of his mythical “real” personality. But his ability to put his words in service of any cause or position — from the Iraq War, which he keenly supported, to environmentalism to the relative merits of Hellenic civilization — should give all of us pause, earnest proponents of Brexit most of all. It is not obvious that he believes in anything in particular except self-aggrandizement and having a laugh.

It is here, I think, and not in focusing their supposedly shared right-wing views, that many observers go right in comparing Boris to Donald Trump. Both of these men have managed to climb to the very top of the proverbial greasy poles in their respective countries without knowing much of anything except how to communicate effectively.

There should be a lesson here, for their supporters and enemies alike.