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 has been applied to Johnson by the British media,[2][3][4] and international media,[5][6][7][8] as well as political adversaries,[9][10] and some political scientists.[11][12]

Origin

The term originates from October 2019 when former British Prime Minister David Cameron, in discussing the difficult Brexit talks, said of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, "The thing about the greased piglet is that he manages to slip through other people's hands where mere mortals fail."[13][14]

At the time, Cameron was speaking at the annual October Harrogate Literature Festival in North Yorkshire to promote his book For the Record, when he was asked about his relationship with Johnson and if they had nicknames for each other.[15][16] Cameron made the comment by way of responding to the question, disclosing what he had texted to a friend who had asked him about Johnson's chances of getting his upcoming Brexit legislation voted through parliament.[15][16]

The political editor of The Independent John Rentoul, noted that Johnson had himself previously called the former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron a "greased piglet", on separate occasions.[17]

Meaning

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".[14] In 2022, The New Zealand Herald attributed the use of term in relation to Johnson "due to his legendary ability to evade scandal",[5] while the New York Times attributed the term to him being "a man who could slip out of any tight situation".[18]

In March 2021, British political journalist Andrew Rawnsley wrote of Johnson, "'Getting away with it' has been one of the more consistent features of the career of a man whom other Tories call 'the greased piglet', and quoted a former cabinet minister who told him "Boris has got this Teflon quality. He gets away with things that no other politician would get away with".[19]

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 survivor". The Washington Post wrote "Yet Johnson perseveres, even attracting a myth that he is a great survivor, a “greased piglet,” in former Prime Minister David Cameron’s description, able to slip out of every cage he lands in. On closer examination, Johnson’s survival skills amount to little more than shamelessness. He owes his resilience in disgrace to Britain’s debased political culture and institutions such as the British parliament, the media, the London police and the Conservative party."[20]

Use

In media

The term was regularly used by the British and international media during some of the scandals that occurred 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" and also "It does rather seem like the greased piglet has indeed wriggled out of the grasp of his persecutors. With just a little squealing and just the one fixed penalty notice, off he scampers back to the pigsty that is his political homestead.[2] The Times editorial said "The Times view on Boris Johnson’s survival: Greased Piglet".[3] 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",[4] while The Guardian reproduced a Chris Riddell cartoon titled "Boris Johnson, greased piglet, escapes yet again".[21]

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, when Johnson had 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".[22]

In politics

Political adversaries have 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."[9] In July 2022, after Johnson's announcement to step down, David Gauke wrote in 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".[10]

Other

Academics in political science have also used the term. In the February 2022 book, Populism, the Pandemic and the Media: Journalism in the age of Covid, Trump, Brexit and Johnson, associate professor Steven McCabe at the Centre for Brexit Studies, University of Birmingham, contributed a chapter titled "Al promised you a miracle – Life under the 'Greased piglet' Johnson".[11] In May 2022, after the Partygate affair, Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, told the The New York Times that "Some of the grease has come off", and "He's just a piglet now".[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Hayward, Will (6 July 2022). "Why is Boris Johnson called a greased piglet?". WalesOnline. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b O'Grady, Sean (19 May 2022). "Boris Johnson, the greased piglet, has wriggled free on Partygate". The Independent. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b Editorial (20 May 2022). "The Times view on Boris Johnson's survival: Greased Piglet". The Times. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b Venuto, Damien (8 July 2022). "The Front Page: Boris Johnson resigns - The scandal that finally ensnared the 'greased piglet'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ^ Thompson, Isobel (7 July 2022). "Boris Johnson's Bravado couldn't save him this time". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Ashton, Emily (6 July 2022). "'Teflon' Johnson May Not Shake Off This Crisis". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  9. ^ a b Cable, Vince (6 June 2022). "The greased piglet escapes yet again – but at what cost?". The Independent. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b Gauke, David (7 July 2022). "Why Tory MPs must force Boris Johnson to leave office immediately". The New Statesman. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  11. ^ a b McCabe, Steven (February 2021). "34: Al promised you a miracle – Life under the 'Greased piglet' Johnson". In Mair, John; Clark, Tor; Fowler, Neil (eds.). Populism, the Pandemic and the Media: Journalism in the age of Covid, Trump, Brexit and Johnson. Routledge. pp. 242–250. ISBN 9781003253822.
  12. ^ a b Landler, Mark; Castle, Stephen (19 May 2022). "Boris Johnson Avoids Further Fines as the Police End Lockdown Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  13. ^ Drake, Matt (18 October 2019). "David Cameron calls Boris Johnson a 'greased piglet' before backing Brexit deal". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  14. ^ a b Bagehot (27 November 2019). "The four faces of Boris Johnson". The Economist. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  15. ^ a b Rawlinson, Kevin (17 October 2019). "'Greased piglet' Boris Johnson could pass deal, says David Cameron". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  16. ^ a b Heffer, Greg (18 October 2019). "'The greased piglet will slip through' – David Cameron forecasts success for Boris Johnson deal". Sky News. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  17. ^ Rentoul, John (13 January 2021). "Neither Keir Starmer nor Lindsay Hoyle could get a grip on Boris Johnson, the greased piglet". The Independent. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  18. ^ Castle, Stephen; Robins, Peter (7 July 2022). "How Boris Johnson Fell, and What Happens Next". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Why Boris Johnson, the greased piglet, is eluding the grasp of Keir Starmer". The Observer. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  20. ^ Mishra, Pankaj (25 May 2022). "Voters Must End Boris Johnson's Antics". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  21. ^ Riddell, Chris (28 May 2022). "Boris Johnson, greased piglet, escapes yet again". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Brexit to Exit". The Hindu. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
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