Honest politician!

Boris Johnson has said he can no longer afford his accustomed lifestyle on a prime minister’s salary, claimed that he used to earn much more as a newspaper columnist, and declared that he is going to resign after cleaning up the Brexit mess.

I had known since the days of Yes Prime Minister that the British pay their high political officials in a miserly way (as compared to France or the USA or Singapore, and even India, where though the salaries are laughable, the expense accounts are virtually limitless), but there are two things that I find noteworthy here: I did know that famous TV anchors earned huge pay packets, but not that even newspaper columnists earned on a lavish scale, and secondly, that Johnson used to be one of those high fliers before he came into politics. What on earth possessed him to make the shift?

Also, would any politico in India ever dare to be halfway as brazenly candid?