‘Reserved’ Boris Johnson in ‘emotional discomfort’ after blazing row with lover – as he comes out fighting to ‘regain control’ after news storm, body language reveals
BORIS Johnson is "out of his comfort zone" but is ready to "regain control" and fight back, a body language expert revealed today.
The wannabe PM showed signs of "emotional discomfort" as he went on a PR blitz today after dominating headlines for his blazing row with lover Carrie Symonds.
Despite looking anxious and "forced" on his first real campaigning day of the leadership race, he also showed he was ready to "take back control".
And by the end of the day - after five separate photocalls across London and Surrey - he picked up confidence and gathered momentum.
Body language expert Jo Hemmings told The Sun Online that he initially appeared "tense" and "awkward" - likely rattled by the recent media attention.
He later softened up as he got back into the swing of things - having afternoon tea, door-knocking supporters and getting a kiss from a cute pooch.
BEING SECRETIVE
After he insisted to voters there would be "no more rows" with girlfriend Carrie, Jo said Boris was being "secretive".
She told Sun Online exclusively: "There's an awkwardness and lack of genuine sincerity in both his hands buried deeply in his pockets - always a sign of being secretive - and a strained half smile, indicating emotion discomfort."
Analysing pictures of Boris on the trail, she said: "They are rather like an imposter doing an impression of Boris.
"So they are Boris’s characteristic gestures - the ‘royal’ wave, the double thumbs up and the awkward school boy, with his hands behind his back, but the facial expressions don’t match.
"Mouth agape, like a fish struggling for air, he seems anxious and deflated rather than a confident PM in waiting.
";He’s rattled and he imagines those expansive gestures will disguise his concerns."
STATESMAN-LIKE WAVE
Kicking off his busy day - which included two radio interviews and a string of photocalls with fans - Boris looked tired and withdrawn.
A snap of him in his car arriving at LBC studios this morning showed him attempting a "forced half smile" while trying to "shut out his immediate surroundings", Jo said.
She explained: "Tie properly askew, this is a man who quite frankly looks tired and a bit brow beaten by what is going on. Well out of his usual comfort zone, where even his signature bluster isn’t really cutting it."
Later, as he met supporters in Surrey and joked with crowds, she said he had softened up and was "clearly feeling more secure".
"He is looking more his usual casually confident self," she said of the photographs of Boris surrounded by signs and a crowd.
"That statesman-like wave acknowledging his support in his rather bumbling way, that we know is so familiar."
Earlier this morning, in a separate radio interview with talkRADIO, he was "man-spreading and hunched", she said.
The posture was a "safety anchor" to mask the "anxiety he is feeling" in the wake of his row with 31-year-old girlfriend Carrie.
During the chat, he refused to confirm if photos of him and Carrie looking loved-up were staged. They emerged on Monday after a weekend on which he dominated news headlines for the red wine "plate-smashing" row at Carrie's Camberwell flat.
Tensing up as he was questioned, Jo revealed: "Boris’s body language is way less assertive than his interviewer’s, who looks much more in control, with the leg crossed towards him, sitting back on the sofa.
"We can see how tense Boris is, both by the fact that his neck has all but disappeared into his hunched shoulders and that hand on hand, thigh posture is a classic comfort gesture – a safety anchor if you like – to try and mask the anxiety he is feeling."
TAKING BACK CONTROL
But later in his interview he "regained composure and control", Jo added.
After fending off the awkward questions, he began to use hand gestures to make his point - a move which showed he is ready to "regain control".
Jo said: "The big expansive gestured are closer to his face, making them seem more sincere and definitely more confident.
"They are less stereotypical and more expressively genuine."
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