"And then we step to the r-i-i-i-i-ght..."

I was watching Britains Prime Ministers question time, kind of by accident earlier. For those not au-fait with British politics, the opposition party (nearest US eqivalent to the Republicans) recently had a change of leadership. The quiet and inneffectual Iain Duncan Smith was replaced with Michael Howard.

To really appreciate how messed up this is, you have to remember that "New Labour", the Blair party and current patients in charge of the asylum, left-wing in name, while right wing in practice. Howard, on the other hand, is so far to the right that he makes Blair look like Lenin.

So really, what the conservatives are trying to sell to the British public is "Labour isn't working. They say they are the left. Let's all try something different, and go to the right."

Much as I hate Blairs New Labour, the idea of a Howard led Tory party coming to power fills me with dread. While Blair went in for "spin", Howard is just crooked. There was a famous incident years ago, where he was being interviewed on Newsnight by the notorious Jeremy Paxman. He was asked a straightforward question. "Did you threaten to over-rule him?"

Howard began by saying "I did NOT over-rule him..." Paxman cut him off. "Did you THREATEN to over-rule him?"

What followed next simply can't be done justice in print. Howard continued to avoid the question, and Paxman KEPT ASKING IT. All in all, he asked "Did you threaten to over-rule him?" FOURTEEN times.

Sample :

Paxman: Did you threaten to overrule him?
Howard: I was not entitled to instruct Derek Lewis and I did not instruct him. And the truth is...
Paxman: Did you threaten to over-rule him?
Howard: I did not overrule Derek Lewis.
Paxman: Did you threaten to overrule him?

I mention all of this to give you some perspective of what a tremendous right-wing evil crook I think Howard is.

Okay, so now bearing that in mind... he made a speech today in Parliament which hit every single fuck up the Labour Government has made. It said all of the things which are not actually supposed to be said, by anyone. Those uncomfortable truths that BOTH parties know, and try to keep quiet. Well, he got them all. It was fiery, articulate, laden with memorable sound-bites, and devastating to watch. At the end of it, I was thinking "I hate the guy, but based on that speech I'd probably vote for him." It was masterful, and I kind of respected him. Not for his stance, since every word of his good intentions is no doubt a lie. No, I respected the power of his demagoguery. I'd never seen Hitler speak at one of his rallies, but I imagine it went something like that.


posted by Manchild at 5:18 PM