Modern British Politics: Gossip
So, what have we found out about politics today?
1. Tony Blair didn't get on with Gordon Brown: No, really? Blair and Brown didn't like each other? Fuck-a-duck that is news, isn't it? Except it actually isn't. Because we've known about this for the best part of the decade - Blair's confirmation of his difficult relationship with Brown proves nothing other than what we already knew.
And it isn't just about the lack of novelty - there's another reason why it is largely irrelevant for the future - neither Blair nor Brown represent the future of politics in our country. Neither of them will ever be Prime Minister - or even a high-powered elected politician - again. This is just watching a soap opera that has gone well past its prime.
2. Hague's adviser quits: So, someone has been forced from a job because of sly, often borderline homophobic, innuendo. And, as a result of that we've learned of the personal tragedy of the miscarriages that have befallen the Hagues. I can entirely understand why they wanted to keep this private, and I cannot understand why this needed to come into the public sphere. Except that it is a desperate attempt to end what I can see is just groundless speculation abut Hague's private life. Of course they didn't want to reveal this; of course, under the duress of prattling tongues, they had to.
And in the meantime, our politicians get away with continuing to do and say next to nothing about our future as a nation. They get away with having no ambition, no plan and no ideological commitment whatsoever because at the first sign of some titillating, controversial or in any way gossipy, the media works themselves up into a furore about it and we, the consumers, blindly accept it.
So the next time you wonder why Cameron, or Clegg, or whoever gets to be Labour leader, is so shallow, PR-obsessed and light-weight, remember days like these. When all we seem to want form our politicians is to be entertained, like vacuous viewers of the world's slowest, dullest, but most long-running, soap opera. If we want the calibre of our politicians to change, we need to change it. We need to redress the balance between personal and private, and we need to remember that the only meaningful litmus test for our politicians is what they do in power, rather than with their colleagues or in their private lives.
Because this is the truth - the politicians we get we deserve.
Labels: Blair, Brown, Calamity Clegg, Cameron, Can we just get over it please?, Hague, Homophobia, Media, Witless Morons
posted by The Nameless Libertarian @ 7:04 pm
8 Comments
8 Comments:
THe real problem is that we aren't allowed a direct say on an issue.
Most MPs aren't either. It's a small cabal.
ie. They are an irrelevance, just as we are.
So taking the piss out of them is the only opiton left.
Uh-huh. and unless we start challenging that small cabal then they're going to go on doing what they're doing. It's down to use to change things.
You are so full of shit. Hague is still in office. He did
not need to reveal the tragedy of his partner's miscarriages. He did so to garner sympathy in the face of possible hostile media. He should not have appointed an under-qualified driver to be a special adviser on policy given a possibly misapprehended background. And it's this person who is taking the rap and losing his job. Get a grip.
gladiolys,
Oh for fuck's sake read the fucking post. I acknowledge the fact that the driver/adviser has been forced from his job, not Hague. The point is that the whole fucking thing has been whipped up into a fever pitch by prurient whispering about Hague and his former Special adviser; the resignation of said adviser and Hague's sob story about the miscarriages are the result of that whispering.
Maybe this man was unqualified for the job, although I'd argue that the person who should decide who is and who isn't fit for a role is the person managing that that role, rather than a legion of armchair chuntering noise-monkeys with a whole host of opinions but little access to real facts. And even if this spad was unqualified for his, he's in good company in modern British politics. We had John Prescott as Deputy PM for ten years, for fuck's sake.
What brought down this special adviser and made Hague go public with the details of his marriage is borderline homophobic gossip. It is all about the obsession with someone's private life, not about their actual capability to their job. If you can't get a grip on that then fuck off somewhere else.
TNL
FFS.. "And even if this spad was unqualified for his, he's in good company in modern British politics. We had John Prescott as Deputy PM for ten years, for fuck's sake. "
So two wrongs equal a right? This is new politics? Personal life does matter if it makes you appear to be a two faced pillock. Poor judgement also makes you look like you might not be able to do your day job properly.
Yeah, again, read the post - I'm not arguing that two wrongs make a right, but rather that we need to change the calibre of people vying for high office by making the personal actually personal.
Besides, there is no clear sign of poor judgment from Hague, and this SpAD hasn't gone because he wasn't fit to do the role but because he was forced from the position owing to innuendo. By all means get rid of the incompetent from politics, but for fuck's sake do it for the right reasons!
TNL
THe real problem is that we aren't allowed a direct say on an issue.
Most MPs aren't either. It's a small cabal.
ie. They are an irrelevance, just as we are.
So taking the piss out of them is the only opiton left.
Yes, Lord Blagger, you've said...
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