Oderint dum metuant
Or, for those of you like me, denied a classical education, 'Let them hate, so long as they fear'.
This saying of Caligula seems quite appropriate for our would be next Prime Minister, one Gordon Brown, who according to a yougov poll in The Telegraph is only liked by 16% of the population. Looks like all of those baby photos have done him no good at all. I would not count myself part of that 16%. Rather annoyingly, yougov has not put the full results up on its website yet, as I would be interested to see the breakdown region by region. Even if Brown adopts Caligula's mantra, "Only a third said that the Chancellor has done a good job while in charge of the national finances [and] only a fifth think him honest". Since I'm in literary show off mode, Brown reminds me of Coriolanus. I can just imagine his distaste at having to engage in campaign japery for the benefit of the tabloids.
Yesterday's shenanigans provided plenty of exercises in semiotics for kremlinologists - Blair showing up with Johnson at his side, and Broon wearing his plain red tie - again. If Blair was not already backing Johnson, following Broon's latest displays of petulance and ego, he should be now. We would have the makings of an interesting leadership contest between those two - the likeable working class boy made good, versus the first wonk would be Prime Minister. Consider this - Brown has only ever worked in academia, the media and politics, all rather closed little worlds.
Anyway, rather than ramble on, I hope we can get a dialogue going on in the comments.
Or, for those of you like me, denied a classical education, 'Let them hate, so long as they fear'.
This saying of Caligula seems quite appropriate for our would be next Prime Minister, one Gordon Brown, who according to a yougov poll in The Telegraph is only liked by 16% of the population. Looks like all of those baby photos have done him no good at all. I would not count myself part of that 16%. Rather annoyingly, yougov has not put the full results up on its website yet, as I would be interested to see the breakdown region by region. Even if Brown adopts Caligula's mantra, "Only a third said that the Chancellor has done a good job while in charge of the national finances [and] only a fifth think him honest". Since I'm in literary show off mode, Brown reminds me of Coriolanus. I can just imagine his distaste at having to engage in campaign japery for the benefit of the tabloids.
Yesterday's shenanigans provided plenty of exercises in semiotics for kremlinologists - Blair showing up with Johnson at his side, and Broon wearing his plain red tie - again. If Blair was not already backing Johnson, following Broon's latest displays of petulance and ego, he should be now. We would have the makings of an interesting leadership contest between those two - the likeable working class boy made good, versus the first wonk would be Prime Minister. Consider this - Brown has only ever worked in academia, the media and politics, all rather closed little worlds.
Anyway, rather than ramble on, I hope we can get a dialogue going on in the comments.
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on Friday, September 08, 2006 at 7:55 am.
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i for one do not believe taht we should have a prime minister with as little life experience as GB---and the same goes for DC too.
As discussed in a previous thread with verity,the shrewd money should be moving to Johnson methinks.GB is not an electoral asset.And whilst he is popular with the idealogues who wish to debate socialist issues,a lot of the rest of us think he's a ~~~~!
difficult to have a dialogue when you've pretty much summed everything up!
Blair's hanging on is as much to do with him trying to give alternatives to Brown a chance to get into position.
For a while I even thought Blair might have been trying to buy Cameron some time to get his act together.
The chances of Johnson beating Brown increase with every day that passes and Cameron against Johnson is a very different prospect.
RM - The rise of a caste of professional politicians is one of the worst developments in public life over the last few decades. We have the nonsense that no-one in the cabinet has seen military service, let alone combat, but Blair is happy to send British troops off to more places than any Prime Minister has seen the end of the Empire.
Being a degenerate political gambler, I keep an eye on betfair, and the current odds show Reid fading, Johnson treading water, and Brown's price easing. He is currently at 1.42 (a ten quid bet would give you your stake back, plus £4.20), whereas an absolute cast iron certainty like Germany beating San Marino was trading at 1.01/1.02.
Richard - My mate Serf is currently offering a rather amusing logo of 'Tories for Brown', on the grounds that Brown is a preferable opponent. Johnson would be a much more unnerving opponent for Cameron as he comes without baggage, seems like a nice - and competent - bloke and isn't part of the Tartan Mafia,
'The chances of Johnson beating Brown increase with every day that passes and Cameron against Johnson is a very different prospect.'
RB I like that paragraph.
C interesting what you say about betfair.I thinkl Reid should not be written off but there a lot of brits pissed off with the jocks.Gb is on bloomberg as I write,16% of the country are obviously insane
he's banging on about how labour has got unemployment down through education,new deal,,
strangely omits borrowing tens of billions and giving out non jobs on the public payroll.
now onto how's he's avoided stop/go.obviuosly doesn't believe that the bond yields inverting warns of recession
Allan Johnson is hardly a man of the world, he worked as a postman before becoming a trades union agitator.
I have a soft spot for posties, on the whole most are cheery souls, although that could be due to all the credit cards and cash they are looting from the mail, I don't think either job qualifies him to run a country. Unless you have had to meet a wage bill (even if its just your own) you do not understand how an economy works and are therefore unfit for public office.
riggor mortice that 16% will be made up of
public sector workers
alzheimer sufferers
the unemployed
the other 14 % that makes up the 30 % of the population who are actually retarded probably didn't understand the question.
On the subject of Alzheimer's, a friend of mines mother had it, the Dr came around to visit her and check up on her faculties,
he asked (this was over 10 years ago)
"Do you know who john major is"
her reply was
"oh, that wanker!"
true story
RM - I thank you!
CR - Once again you leave me nowhere to go!
Brown is on his way back to Holyrood, I can feel it in my bones. Brown's style of tub thumping is electable up there and then the Union will be under real pressure. Cameron needs to get ready to respond to that little googly.
I am damn sure I wouldn't want to take on the economic architect of the devolution settlement.
Clarke is up to no good on someone's behalf. The prefered Blairite candidate. Did he volunteer or was he requested?
Does he think he can get back to the Cabinet if his beneficiary wins?
I've pondered on whether Brown would head back to Scotland if he failed to win the leadership. If he does, I am cast-iron certain he would push Scotland towards independence and seek to break the Union purely out of revenge. And he'd keep the Trident submarines, I bet.
in that case all the scots nationalistslike myself should get praying for a Johnson/Reid victory
Peter, that 16% might soar now that Brown has been photographed smiling"
"Brown has only ever worked in academia, the media and politics, all rather closed little worlds."
As opposed to the rich and varied life experience of DC, I suppose? To be fair, DC's summing-up of Brown as a "grim, dour cove" (during the Tory leadership campaign) is pretty well spot-on.
I knew Brown slightly, years ago. Not my cup of tea, but I felt no urge to boot him on the bum. Had I known Blair, then an upbumkick would have been swiftly delivered I'm sure. For the Tories, I reckon Milburn would be the best bet. He could deliver a Tory majority of 100, I'd guess.
ISS - agreed, Cameron has not done a lot of work outside of politics.
Dearieme - I think that McDonnell could reduce the Labour party to such a parlous position that they would look back on '83 with fondness....
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