Domestic politics: insulting the voters
Wednesday 26 September 2012
The ghastly Nick Clegg is, we are told by diverse sources, to warn his diminishing band of party members that they face continued "vitriol and abuse" as the price of keeping the current administration "anchored in the centre ground".
Interestingly, though, while this sensitive soul seems to be concerned that his troops are on the receiving end, when it comes to them dishing out the "vitriol and abuse", they are by no means reticent. Through the course of the conference, we have had Danny Alexander describe those who want the United Kingdom to leave the European Union as "potty" while Lib-Dim MEP Sharon Bowles has criticised right-wing Conservatives and Eurosceptic parties such as UKIP for living in a "1930s fantasy of imperial power". Liberally spraying the epithet, "europhobes", Bowles warns of a "ticking time bomb" that could lead to the UK's withdrawal from the EU, and asks of those who promoted the idea of the eurozone collapsing: "Are they mad?" Insulting the voters, though, is by no means foreign to the Lib-Dim leader, who has been known to call eurosceptics "Xenophobes" and other such delights. When you come to think of it, insulting the voters has become something of a tradition in British politics, so it is perhaps unsurprising that Andrew Mitchell was caught abusing the plod. Generally, if the public is held in contempt, there is no good reason why the filth should be left out. However, if the politicians feel they should be treated with a bit more respect, a very good start might be to treat their own voters in like fashion. But if they insist on insulting the people who don't agree with them, they can hardly complain when we return the compliments. COMMENT THREAD Richard North 26/09/2012 |
Eurocrash: and with one bound …
Wednesday 26 September 2012
 From a position over the weekend, when the Greek deficit had suddenly doubled, and uncontrollable bankruptcy threatened, it takes only until Wednesday morning to learn that everything is in hand, and that the Greek government will have no problem closing the "yawning funding gap". Meanwhile, the Greek workers are mounting another general strike, the Catalonians are revolting, Spanish debt continues to spiral into the stratosphere, the Portuguese have had enough and the Germans are still unhappy. If this was a soap opera, it would be shedding viewers by the million with such an unbelievable plot line, but somehow the "colleagues" still manage to hold it together. However, one senses that the scriptwriters are struggling to hold one particular audience, and German patience is running out. Says Die Welt, the tragedy of Greece has no end. Every quarter, the bankrupt state needs billions of new money from Europe. And every three months the troika goes back to Athens, then to discover that the Greeks have not implemented sufficient of the agreed measures to stabilise their country. Thus, we are told, the country is expected - in theory – to get no more money from international donors. And yet, as the scriptwriters busy themselves once again, with one bound, they are free … until the next instalment, and the next, and the next. How long can this go on? COMMENT THREAD Richard North 26/09/2012 |
Posts
