Boris Johnson set to return to the centre of the game soon? Two years after his forced departure from 10 Downing Street, the former British Prime Minister is tipped to take over the management of the British newspaper Tea Daily Telegraph, reported the British press at the beginning of this week. The information, first revealed by Sky Newshas been confirmed by several other press titles such as The Guardian, The Times and even the Telegraph himself.
The highly influential British conservative newspaper, a sort of equivalent of the Figaro across the Channel, has been up for sale since the Barclay family, which had owned it since 2004, defaulted on its payments. One bid seemed to be in the cards to take over the title founded in 1855: that of a consortium led by the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mansour. But this bid was ultimately short-circuited by a law passed last April by the former conservative majority, which prohibited a foreign state from acquiring a newspaper or magazine.
Back to zero, then. And this time, it is Boris Johnson’s former Finance Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, who seems to be at the centre of the game and has reportedly already contacted several wealthy investors to put together an offer of over £600 million (over €702 million) for the Daily Telegraphbut also for the magazine The Spectator. With the project, in particular, of placing BoJo in the editorial management of the Telegraphseen as the transmission belt of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, and which exceeded one million subscriptions in August 2023. No agreement has yet been reached with the Brexit figure, and discussions have so far remained informal. But they could give weight to Nadhim Zahawi’s candidacy to take control of the newspaper.
Former correspondent of the newspaper
This appointment would be like a return to the roots for BoJo. It is indeed as a journalist at Daily Telegraph that he became known to the general public, notably by being the newspaper’s correspondent in Brussels from 1989 to 1994. His acerbic columns on the European Union and its functioning, never hesitating to distort the facts or even to invent them to amuse and serve his stories, made him very popular in the United Kingdom, particularly within conservative circles.
Enough to gradually infuse the arguments for Brexit, of which he would become one of the leading figures a little over two decades later. “He was seen more as a colorful buffoon. But we didn’t realize that he was going to set the tone of the British debate,” a former UK official in Brussels told the newspaper. The Guardian in 2019.
While repeated scandals have since tarnished BoJo’s image and reputation, even forcing him to resign as Prime Minister in 2022, he has nonetheless retained an influence in British public debate. In particular, he writes a weekly column for the widely read Daily Mail, “for which he would receive a six-figure salary,” claims the Telegraph.
A taste of revenge on the Tories?
But it may be by returning to where he first made his name that Boris Johnson could once again become a leading figure in the UK, taking over a title that is highly influential in conservative circles. While the former prime minister did not respond to requests from the British media, “he retains a great affection for the Telegraph“, one of his relatives assured Sky News.
For Boris Johnson, this nomination could also have a taste of revenge on the Conservative Party and Rishi Sunak, crushed in the last general election by Labour. Banned by his own camp from the British Parliament in June 2023 after the conclusions of the report on Partygate – these parties organized at 10 Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic ignoring all health restrictions -, BoJo had been very discreet in the campaign of his successor Rishi Sunak, only giving him his support in the final stretch of the vote.
Taking over the Tory transmission belt could put him back at the centre of the game in his party, and why not allow him to settle some scores with those who had precipitated his downfall. Like his political career as an eternal outsiderBoris Johnson has never had his last word.