The Guardian view on Johnson's green jobs plan: the right way to start | Editorial

The prime minister has correctly identified the challenge, but his record invites doubt that he can turn his rhetoric into reality

Boris Johnson's comfort zone is the future. He is weak at managing the day-to-day business of a government and bad at making hard choices quickly. For that reason, he is poorly suited to the role of prime minister during a pandemic, but better at the job of selling a green industrial revolution" for the recovery phase.

The launch on Wednesday of a 10-point plan for net zero carbon emissions allowed Mr Johnson to indulge his predilection for hyperbole. He wants Britain to be the world's number one centre for green technology and finance" and the Saudi Arabia of wind". Those are fine aspirations. Regular readers of Mr Johnson's rhetoric know to check the small print.