Boris Johnson’s cash splurge is totally reckless. Yet it could win an election | Aditya Chakrabortty

His plan for tax cuts and spending commitments makes no economic sense. But don't underestimate its effect on voters

You know what you're supposed to think of Boris Johnson. He is a cynical joker, a blond wrecking ball spouting Latin, an overprivileged preposteropath. He is a politician to be opposed fiercely, yet never taken seriously.

Look at the tools with which journalists are covering his leadership campaign. Dollops of scepticism about his Brexit plans, a few questions about that dodgy past - and a vast yawning incuriosity about any of his other policies. You can see why that is: when one has a star so box office and a show as dramatic as Britain crashing out of Europe within a few months, then who cares about the support acts? Especially if one doubts the Bullingdon buffoon is even capable of having policies. Still, this is an astonishingly easy ride to give a man probably just three weeks away from becoming our next prime minister.

Theresa May's would-be replacement has found not just one magic money tree, but a whole forest

Related: UN rapporteur: tax cut plans of Johnson and Hunt 'a tragedy'