Posturing

It's not so much his bragging as his posturing that bothers me.

With his "hatred of what was theatrical" (1:124) he is put off by the posturings and attitudinizings of the chief actors.

Few political careers start when people are in their 70s, but Hendy is actually relishing it, although he is incensed sometimes by the pointlessness of the posturing by the opposition, which keeps him up late. "The bit I don't like is getting home at 0100 or 0200 in the morning because the opposition have been fruitlessly arguing for a long time."