'This is it, folks': Boris Johnson bids an ambiguous goodbye

Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives with his wife Carrie to speak outside Downing Street in London, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. [AP Photo]

Boris Johnson's term as British leader was a mix of high drama and low disgrace. But he left office on Tuesday with a casual shrug of a farewell: "Well, this is it, folks."

The prime minister's final speech outside 10 Downing Street, delivered before he offered his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, was vintage Johnson - a quixotic blend of humor, classical erudition, ego and an elastic relationship with the truth. And it left many observers wondering whether this really is the end for a leader who has long defied political gravity.