London's Next Top Mayor

Just scant weeks before London’s voters go to the polls, the race for mayor of London is looking less like an election and more like a reality TV show, with all the over-the-top histrionics that are expected of the genre. Its two antagonists are hometown celebrities known to all by their first names—Ken Livingstone, the former mayor, a fiery socialist with a penchant for dropping explosive sound bites versus Boris Johnson, the tousled-haired, bike-riding conservative incumbent.

The two have clashed repeatedly over the airwaves and in heated debates, with Johnson accusing Livingstone of being "a fucking liar," which prompted Livingstone to call for an end to the "X Factor slugfest." The BBC recently summed up the race as a "candidates battle for branding supremacy," noting that "Johnson's image has formed a key part of the London race for mayor - from the blue, floppy-haired profile on Back Boris 2012 merchandise to the hairy cartoon character depicted as a thief in Ken Livingstone's campaign literature."