When Thatcher was removed, I didn’t dance naked in the street (okay, I did, just for different reasons), but I wasn’t exactly displeased. Now, whenever I watch the long, slow death of Tony Blair being reported on TV news or in the newspapers I just don’t give a toss.
Whether this is due to age: at the time, Thatcher was the only Prime Minister I’d ever known, or just the thought that when that dour git becomes PM he’ll just raise the taxes that he would have done as the Chancellor and carry on pretty much the same anyway. I guess the point is, for all the media frenzy, I don’t care at all.
And I thought Things could Only Get Better.
Song playing as this was published: Killerpilze - “Bikinifrau”
I slightly couldn’t give a toss either, I have to say, but that could be the distance talking. The plotting is quite interesting, as a story, but I think it’s all just a preulde to Prime Minister Cameron anyway. Brown’s tenure, if it happens at all (surely the party will have to agree on him?), will be short-lived.
You misheard: it was “Things Can Only Get Bitter”.
Nice to see you back, by the way.
BiB: It’s just that all the alternatives aren’t any different from one another, are they? Conservative leaders should eat babies / kittens for breakfast, not mince about drinking
freeFairtrade coffee and meeting Nelson Mandela. By the same token, the Labour leadership should wear donkey jackets and want to turn Britain into an early 1980s version of Poland. But bleaker. This subtle difference between the parties nonsense is boring as hell.Queen Of Swords: Ho Ho. Just annoyed for not thinking of that….
The British have the wonderful tradition of sacking their PMs when the public just cannot take it anymore. Even Labour supporters seem to eagerly await Mr Blair finally vacating 10 Downing Street.
Will the new government be able to cure the UK of its EU phobia? Will London finally have a sound foreign policy? Will Gordon Brown be able to close the ranks? Will the Brits finally realise that the monarchy should have been abandoned already 200 years ago? Or how about a nice written constitution? Or a slightly updated electoral system with proportional representation so that the political fringe (including IAF) have a bit more of a say? Probably none of this is going to happen but certainly there will be interesting times ahead.
PS: There’s this silly saying I once heard: Politicans and diapers have two things in common. They need to be changed frequently and for the same reason.
JCS: Blair wants to do away with lots of wonderful British traditions, the particular one you mention, especially, I would imagine.
As far as politics goes throughout my life the only two things I’ve wanted as far as prime minister was concerned was: Maggie, Maggie, Maggie. Out! Out! Out! And for Tony Blair to win the election in 1997. All other candidates have appeared insipid at best, and as much as I’d like some kind of change now, I don’t see a viable (speak, attractive) alternative to Blair.
As for EU Phobia: Living in Britain once more has convinced me of my difference with many other Britons: I’m EUphobic - I think the EU is a socialist, statist monster that doesn’t value its individuals, but I’m a Europhile - well, except for the French, obviously.
EU socialist: Eh?
And did you seriously believe that “Things could only get better”. You must have been d:reaming when Blair spent 3 years trying to tone (ahem) down everyone’s expectations of what he wanted to achieve, blaming the Tories’ 18-year reign and limiting the “pledges” to a few words that would fit on the back of a few pledge cards, enabling him to keep saying “we didn’t promise anything you know, read the small print, not just the slogans, idiots” for the entire time he’s been in No. 10.
That comment was mine.
Daggi: But he kept saying (and still does), “I passionately (press fingertips together at this point and stare at camera) believe that……”
IAF: he, the man, says “I passionately believe”…..
Yes. He says he believes….both very non-committal things, saying, and believing, aren’t they. (He then says “but 18 years of Conservative rule” and praises Thatcher and her legacy in the next breath, of course).
It’s even possible he might even say, off the record, of course, he’s believes passionately in the ideas and blueprint of Marx’ and Engels’ Communist Manifesto (particuarly if it was 1983 and he was trying to get selected as a Labour candidate, oh, did I mention him praising Militant once at such a meeting), it doesn’t mean he’d move a finger towards making any of that happen. As you say, he only moves his fingertips together towards each other. Stare, stare, get a bit annoyed. There’s only one thing worse than Blair in New Labour, and that’s his scary Blairite accolytes, who in the main were only ever careerists, and are now deserting him for Brown in droves. I once spoke to a conference full of them - that was a very strange experience indeed.