London, United Kingdom : Top Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson, who pulled off one of his most sensational coups de theatre Thursday, is an unmistakable figure on Britain's political stage with his blond mop-top and bumbling manner.
The former London mayor shocked the nation by announcing he would not, after all, join the race to be Conservative Party leader and prime minister, triggering immediate derision on social media.
"Baby Boris goes back to the nursery while grown-ups clean up his mess," wrote Twitter user @ScoopAlley, one of the more printable comments denouncing Johnson for plunging Britain into its worst turmoil for decades and then not being prepared to take charge.
It came exactly a week after Britain's vote to quit the European Union, a victory for the "Leave" campaign of which Johnson was the figurehead.
However, there were those within the party who felt naked ambition drove him to join the "Leave" campaign, against the best interests of the party. Former prime minister John Major had dismissed Johnson as a "court jester" with no hope of leading the Tories.
'King of the world'
His father Stanley was a Conservative member of the European Parliament, one brother, Jo, is a minister in Cameron's government and his sister Rachel is a journalist and writer.
Rachel Johnson told her brother's biographer that, as a child, he wanted to be "king of the world" when he grew up.
The pair were then contemporaries at Oxford University and both members of the Bullingdon Club, an elite, all-male dining society known for its rowdy behaviour.
Biographers say Johnson was touted as a future prime minister at Oxford while Cameron kept a lower profile, sowing the seeds of their rivalry in government.
After graduating, Johnson became a journalist, working at The Times and The Daily Telegraph newspapers -- including as Brussels correspondent -- and editing right-wing political magazine The Spectator.
He became a lawmaker for the then opposition Conservatives in 2001 and was later appointed as a shadow arts minister before being sacked from the role over accusations of lying about an alleged extra-marital affair.
In 2008, he became London mayor and stepped down from the House of Commons.
Despite constant speculation, Johnson had always batted away rumours about his political ambitions, once saying that his chances of being prime minister were on a par with "my being reincarnated as an olive".
After successfully standing for re-election in 2012 Johnson left City Hall in May to spearhead the "Leave" campaign, whose shock victory last week triggered turmoil in Westminster which is set to continue long beyond Thursday's dramatic events.
"Oh well, it's a good job Boris Johnson's aborted leadership bid had no lasting negative consequences for the country," wrote Twitter user @OwenJones84.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The former London mayor shocked the nation by announcing he would not, after all, join the race to be Conservative Party leader and prime minister, triggering immediate derision on social media.
"Baby Boris goes back to the nursery while grown-ups clean up his mess," wrote Twitter user @ScoopAlley, one of the more printable comments denouncing Johnson for plunging Britain into its worst turmoil for decades and then not being prepared to take charge.
It came exactly a week after Britain's vote to quit the European Union, a victory for the "Leave" campaign of which Johnson was the figurehead.
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However, there were those within the party who felt naked ambition drove him to join the "Leave" campaign, against the best interests of the party. Former prime minister John Major had dismissed Johnson as a "court jester" with no hope of leading the Tories.
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'King of the world'
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His father Stanley was a Conservative member of the European Parliament, one brother, Jo, is a minister in Cameron's government and his sister Rachel is a journalist and writer.
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Rachel Johnson told her brother's biographer that, as a child, he wanted to be "king of the world" when he grew up.
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The pair were then contemporaries at Oxford University and both members of the Bullingdon Club, an elite, all-male dining society known for its rowdy behaviour.
Biographers say Johnson was touted as a future prime minister at Oxford while Cameron kept a lower profile, sowing the seeds of their rivalry in government.
After graduating, Johnson became a journalist, working at The Times and The Daily Telegraph newspapers -- including as Brussels correspondent -- and editing right-wing political magazine The Spectator.
He became a lawmaker for the then opposition Conservatives in 2001 and was later appointed as a shadow arts minister before being sacked from the role over accusations of lying about an alleged extra-marital affair.
In 2008, he became London mayor and stepped down from the House of Commons.
Despite constant speculation, Johnson had always batted away rumours about his political ambitions, once saying that his chances of being prime minister were on a par with "my being reincarnated as an olive".
After successfully standing for re-election in 2012 Johnson left City Hall in May to spearhead the "Leave" campaign, whose shock victory last week triggered turmoil in Westminster which is set to continue long beyond Thursday's dramatic events.
"Oh well, it's a good job Boris Johnson's aborted leadership bid had no lasting negative consequences for the country," wrote Twitter user @OwenJones84.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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