A Balliol-graduate and Oxford Union president who reshaped our relationship with Europe on the mandate of a decisive general election victory, but whose once-promising leadership was derailed by social unease, domestic tensions within the Union and economic turmoil. The comparison between Ted Heath and Boris Johnson is irresistible, if somewhat unintuitive.
In personality, the two could hardly be more different. Heath was a lifelong bachelor whose romantic life seems to have been non-existent. Johnson, whose escapades have taken up considerable inches of newspaper column, is set to be married for the third time. Heath was aloof, detail-focused and introverted, and struggled to form relationships with even his closest companions. Johnson is outgoing with a tendency towards the theatrical and a flair for political gestures.
Yet in the long view of history, our prime ministers are judged in spite of their personalities, not because of them. Flamboyance is no substitute for strong leadership.
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