De Gaulle tackled France’s loss of self-confidence by speaking for “la France profonde” and insisting that “France cannot be France without grandeur”.France could easily have wallowed in despair after the waror―what amounted to the same thing―listened more enthusiastically to Marxist intellectuals such as Jean-Paul Sartre.De Gaulle regarded national pride as the only cure for national suicide.Mr. Johnson has the same life-preserving instincts.He likes to think that he speaks for Middle England.He identifies Britain with “greatness” as naturally as the general identified France with “grandeur”.He is repulsed by the left’s characterisation of Britain’s past as nothing but a story of oppression and exploitation.It is not only factually wrong, in his view: it is also damaging to teach children to be ashamed of their country’s past.The general looked forward as well as back:he knew that the best way to restore France’s grandeur was not just to talk about it but to revitalise the country.He ushered in the Fifth Republic, turning the state into an instrument of modernisation, creating a new technocratic elite, rationalising government and investing in infrastructure.France enjoyed “les trente glorieuses”, from 1945 to 1975, when GDP grew at an average of 6% a year.Mr Johnson shares some of these instincts.He senses that the old political order is crumbling―hence his bold raid on northern voters.He senses that the Tories need to give a more active role to the state―
