Greased piglet
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"Greased piglet" is an epithet used by former British Prime Minister David Cameron to describe later British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.[1] The term originates from 2019 when Cameron, in discussing the stalled Brexit talks, said of Johnson: "The thing about the greased piglet is that he manages to slip through other people's hands where mere mortals fail."[2][3] It has been defined by WalesOnline as "a person who is very proficient at slipping out of tight situations."[1] The term became associated with Johnson by the wider domestic,[4][5][6] and international media.[7][8][9][10]
In 2019, The Economist said the term was one of four faces that Johnson portrayed, being the "player, gambler, Machiavelli or piglet", and that the greased piglet "either wriggles through loopholes or else shifts the blame expertly to anyone but himself".[3] In 2022 The New Zealand Herald attributed the use of term in relation to Johnson "due to his legendary ability to evade scandal".[7] In May 2022, Pankaj Mishra writing in The Washington Post wrote that the "greased piglet" term had become associated with the myth of Johnson as "a great survior".[11]
The term "greased piglet" was regularly used by the British and international media during some of the scandals that occured during Johnson's tenure as prime minister. In June 2022, after surviving the partygate incident, The Independent said "Boris Johnson, the greased piglet, has wriggled free on Partygate"[4] The Times editorial said "The Times view on Boris Johnson’s survival: Greased Piglet".[5] The paper Johnson had previously worked for, The Daily Telegraph, said "The 'greased piglet' wriggles free again, but this PM's mutinous party still smells blood",[6] while The Guardian reproduced a Chris Riddell cartoon titled "Boris Johnson, greased piglet, escapes yet again".[12] On 6 July 2022, in the light of the Chris Pincher scandal, the front page of the Daily Mail bore the line: "Can even Boris the Greased Piglet wriggle out of this?"[1] The following day, after the government crisis, Johnson announced his pending resignation, The Hindu noted that "the luck of a man once likened to a "greased piglet" for his ability to escape controversies finally ran out".[13]
Johnson's political adversaries also invoked the term and associated imagery. In June 2022, Vince Cable, referring to Johnson's success in a confidence vote, wrote: "The greased piglet has escaped from his tormentors again ... He may end up as someone’s pork sausage, but not for a while."[14] In July 2022, after Johnson's announcement to step down, David Gauke wrote in the The New Statesman that "There are three objections to the Prime Minister’s plan. The first is that he will find a way out of the current predicament – that the greased piglet may be en route to the abattoir, but he remains just as slippery as ever".[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Hayward, Will (6 July 2022). "Why is Boris Johnson called a greased piglet?". WalesOnline. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Drake, Matt (18 October 2019). "David Cameron calls Boris Johnson a 'greased piglet' before backing Brexit deal". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ a b Bagehot (27 November 2019). "The four faces of Boris Johnson". The Economist. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ a b O'Grady, Sean (19 May 2022). "Boris Johnson, the greased piglet, has wriggled free on Partygate". The Independent. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ a b Editorial (20 May 2022). "The Times view on Boris Johnson's survival: Greased Piglet". The Times. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ a b Tominey, Camilla (6 June 2022). "The 'greased piglet' wriggles free again, but this PM's mutinous party still smells blood". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ a b Venuto, Damien (8 July 2022). "The Front Page: Boris Johnson resigns - The scandal that finally ensnared the 'greased piglet'". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
He had famously garnered the nickname of the "greased piglet" due to his legendary ability to evade scandal
- ^ Thompson, Isobel (7 July 2022). "Boris Johnson's Bravado couldn't save him this time". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
Later, this ability to bluster through rules, to survive where others would fall, earned Johnson a reputation as a "Teflon" politician who was nicknamed the Greased Piglet.
- ^ Donaldson, Kitty; Wickham, Alex; Mayes, Joe (7 July 2022). "Defiant Johnson refuses to quit amid resignations and firings". The Japan Times. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
That would be a remarkable outcome even for the man known in British political circles as the "greased piglet" for his ability to evade trouble.
- ^ Ashton, Emily (6 July 2022). "'Teflon' Johnson May Not Shake Off This Crisis". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
Yet Johnson, whose nicknames include "Teflon" and the "greased piglet," clings on to power.
- ^ Mishra, Pankaj (25 May 2022). "Voters Must End Boris Johnson's Antics". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Riddell, Chris (28 May 2022). "Boris Johnson, greased piglet, escapes yet again". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Brexit to Exit". The Hindu. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Cable, Vince (6 June 2022). "The greased piglet escapes yet again – but at what cost?". The Independent. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ "Why Tory MPs must force Boris Johnson to leave office immediately". The New Statesman. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
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