With one hand in his suit pocket and the other mussing his signature blond hair, Boris Johnson on Sunday took the riskiest gamble of his career: to oppose Prime Minister David Cameron by campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union.
If the stars align for London's eccentric mayor and the voters agree with him in a June 23 referendum, his bet could help him win Cameron's job. But if Britons vote to stay in, he could find that he has blown his chance for good.
A natural comedian known to all by his first name, the disheveled Boris has expertly kept the nation guessing for years as to exactly how high he wanted to climb and what he would be prepared to do along the way.