What is it about Boris Johnson that makes his critics so angry?

When I posted on Facebook a picture of me standing next to Boris Johnson, I expected a few likes and probably a few more harsh comments. What I didn’t anticipate were the hundreds of words of ranting vitriol posted by friends, some of whom I had known since school. My picture was harmless enough: a selfie, quickly snapped when Boris visited my hometown of Sevenoaks on Monday. It wasn’t a ringing endorsement, or even an approval of him. And it offered no comment on what he stands for. It was simply a picture of us squinting at the camera with the caption: “kicked off the week with this guy, our next PM to be?” The first few comments were along the lines of “Well, let’s hope your week improves!” and “Oh no, not you as well?”; people expressing that they didn’t think much of my choice of Monday morning companion, but with a laughing eye-roll attached to show no hard feelings were intended.