Boris Johnson might enjoy being a political ringmaster – but distraction will only take him so far

The Roman poet Juvenal’s thoughts on what people want – bread and circuses – still resonates with the government’s actions of today, argues Sean Russell

The prime minister, Boris Johnson (Reuters)

What do the people want? Bread and circuses. That’s what the Roman poet Juvenal thought when he wrote his Sixteen Satires sometime around 100-127AD.

At this point it’s an old trope. Keep the people entertained and fed and they will vote for you, or at the very least pay less attention to your other activities. That’s how Juvenal saw it in Ancient Rome, or at least he saw “bread and the games” – panem et circenses – by which he meant gladiatorial and athletic events.

“The people have abdicated our duties”, he laments in Satire 10. In his mind he was berating the people for only caring about these two things, instead, perhaps, of aiming his sharp pen at those responsible for exploiting this very fact.