I first read this article on Thursday, but decided it would be a bit too curmudgeonly to flag up on my birthday, yet I think it’s the best piece of political and semiotic analysis I’ve read in a while. It’s a fairly long Guardian article examining Johnson’s clownish persona and the way he seeks to present himself as jovial, likeable and friendly while belying a much meaner, nastier reality. I don’t agree with it completely as I think Johnson thinks of himself as more of a statesman than a clown, but nonetheless I think it”s very well written and well worth reading.