"One must strive to have the majority of votes on one's side: So do not offend the idiots!"
Alexander S Puschkin, famous Russian author and poet in the early 19th century, said that once and I have the slight feeling not a lot has changed in the last 200 years.
When looking at the current political landscape in the UK, this seems to be the leitmotif of many of our political leaders; or do they really believe in what they are saying? I don't think I'll ever find out. But what I want to do is, to have a look at those people who call themselves political leaders, the men and women who head up our parties in the UK.
The Conservatives:
There is David Cameron, the Tory leader and current Prime Minister. I remember the last but one general election and prayed to God the LibDems would form a coalition government with Labour, but they didn't; they have chosen the Conservatives. I struggled. And I feared for the worst. Listening to Cameron back in the days gave me goose pimples, that kind one gets when thinking about Hitchcock's Norman Bates shortly before he pulls the shower curtain open.
After so many years, one gets used to him, one's nerves are being numbed, I'd even say one feels like being captured by the Stockholm syndrome, that sometimes I feel I actually respect the PM for what he does. Till he opens his mouth and thinks in terms of "Rule Britannia". That always makes me cringe again, it overrules my Stockholm syndrome towards him.
My deepest problem with Cameron is, deep inside I agree with him - one can't spend more than one has, hence after the heavy debt situation he inherited, I am all for austerity, and so is he, and his Chancellor. And it's all about strengthening the economy, because a strong economy means foreign and domestic demand, this means more jobs, higher taxes and less benefits; roughly said. As stupid as the notion of "northern power house" is, but an evenly spread out economy is of course better than a highly concentrated one in the southeast of England. So yes, go ahead, please!
And let's also face it, Cameron waved this whole gay rights issue through Parliament like no other (Conservative) party leader ever has. Wow, something no Labour leader has managed beforehand. That's impressive. But, and there is a big B U T looming in the air, and this is this whole ill-fated dealing with Europe and Scotland, privatising big chunks of the NHS, and basically his whole elitist Etonian personality which disturbs me beyond belief. If it weren't for the EU and Scotland, I'd probably be a fervent Tory, but I simply can't; not because of different point of views, but of this immense stupidity of risking the future of our country. He doesn't oppose the EU because of a deep inner conviction, but because back benchers forced him to and he thinks he needs to stand up against that political scum called UKIP.
UKIP:
I don't want to write about them. They are scum, they remind me of Germany in the early 1930s, they use exactly the same techniques like the Nazis did - nationalism and fear, hatred and blaming minorities. They have no room in my blog.
Labour:
Last week Jeremy Corbyn got elected with 60% of the Labour vote. His 3 other contestants had to share the remaining 40%. I would say this is a major triumph. Congratulations to him!
Labour went through many changes in the last few decades. I still remember people like Neil Kinnock and the like, those that basically had to stand up against the Tories and Thatcher in particular, till Tony Blair appeared; and like Phoenix from the ashes, a New Labour rose to power. Well done him. I was a Blairite back then. And I have never ever thought I could be anything left of the centre. I then moved to England and in the late 90s I even joined. Well done me, I thought. But at a time when Blair started to go into bed with George Bush and play war lord, I gave up my Labour membership, as I felt I could not support a party and government that did such a thing. We now know it was the most stupid decision ever made by that former Labour government. Many lives were lost, for basically nothing. And the imbalance created back then was the breeding ground for the problems we are facing today, with ISIS and the lot.
Tony Blair was the role reversal of Dorian Gray. Pictures of his young self were still there, but he grew ugly over the years; not necessarily physically but politically. After he finally gave up, Gordon Brown faced the same fate as John Major did - both were dwarfed by their omnipotent predecessors. Miliband didn't get Labour back to speed. Now let's see what Corbyn will be able to do.
What strikes me the most about Jeremy Corbyn, he is so adorably anti-establishment. For my taste, politically he is slightly too much on the left, but I love the fact that he has backbone enough to (hopefully) remain the way he is and not change and become too politically elitist. I hope he doesn't kneel before the Queen, I hope he doesn't sing the national anthem if he doesn't feel like it, and I hope he doesn't stop seeing his voters in favour of representative duties for which we clearly have the royal family; the latter have nothing else to do in their 'job description'. The press attacks him left, right and centre about the way he behaves, but let me make this public now: The more the press rattles against Jeremy Corbyn for being anti-establishment and the more he remains the way he is, the more trust and faith I will have in him. Jeremy Corbyn has deserved a chance for success, let's give it to him!
SNP:
The SNP is a party that was founded years ago with only one purpose and target in mind - to break off the UK and gain Scottish independence. And the peak of it was last year's referendum which was also their biggest defeat so far - they lost the vote 45% vs 55%. And let me say this, I am truly glad they did, as I would not want to live in a dwarfed England. Scotland enriches the UK beyond belief. After the referendum was over I was so relieved not having to listen to Alex Salmond anymore. His more or less daily infiltrations were too much to bear. He handed over to Nicola Sturgeon.
My first reaction to her was rather negative, as it seemed to me she only chewed on stuff Alex Salmond already spat out. With him gone, leaving her the position as First Minister, she probably freed herself and was able to create her own image she wanted to be portrayed of. And blimey, did she do well! What I like the most about her is her "what you see is what you get" attitude. She is straight forward, appears open and honest and calls things by their names. One doesn't get the "Westminster bla" from her. Very refreshing.
And then they triumphantly conquered the House of Commons in the last general election. OMG! Wouldn't Nicola Sturgeon be the best Prime Minister ever? Well, she wouldn't, because we ought not to forget, deep inside the SNP want independence. She would basically be like a vampire from the Twilight Series - officially feeding from bottled blood, but there is always this intrinsic need for the proper stuff, independence in this matter!
LibDems:
I have always been liberal because I feel tolerance is a virtue, and this is something I subsume in liberalism - live and let live. This is also a very Christian and Humanitarian way of looking at life. Immanuel Kant's 'Categorical Imperative' is nothing else but Jesus Christ's 'Love thy neighbour'. I thought the LibDems under Nick Clegg came pretty much close to this. I was glad when the LibDems came into power in 2010.
The LibDems in the UK appear every 50 years or so in government and have just come out of such a vital part of their existence. They have never been overly visible and de facto left the country as a two party state - Labour and Conservatives. In the last coalition government I think they did good work; they kept the Tories at bay and didn't allow them to go overboard with Europe and certain other issues. I always liked Nick Clegg, for me he was the most trustworthy of all cabinet ministers, the most straight forward. Similar to Nicola Sturgeon he seemed to be a "what you see is what you get" person, a trait I highly appreciate.
Even though they managed to manage the Tories, in the end they were eaten alive by them. They had the chance of a lifetime to gain a profile and they wasted it utterly. Whatever the government did was recognised as Tory gain; publicly, the LibDems were just some junior partners that got to eat the left-overs the seniors threw at them. In other words, they were too busy with themselves and in their situation that they probably never looked forward to a time after the coalition. They got punished badly, extremely badly, and rightly so, as I am afraid to say.
The biggest disaster then was when Nick Clegg resigned. The only figurehead left actually left the political scene. He got a successor, his name is Tim Farron, but other than him being an evangelical Christian I have not heard anything from the party ever since. Evangelicals and tolerance has always been a contradiction in terms. It would be similar to a Thatcherite being member of a trade union. That's it, nothing else can be said about the LibDems - they simply vanished.
Choices over Choices:
So where does this leave me with my choice of party I should go for, maybe even join? Sometimes I am glad I am not yet a British citizen as I don't have to think too much about who to vote for at a general election. But still, who would I favour?
I think currently the decision making process it is more like "who is the least evil of all of them?" and I'd have to make a decision based on negatives. That's not what I want. I want to make a choice grounded on positives - "who is the best?" I am afraid to say, I can't do this right now.
In the ideal world I would wish the following to happen:
- I wish the Tories would give up their stupid Rule Britannia Attitude and feel more European taking on a leading role in shaping the EU and be part of it rather than against it.
- I wish UKIP would eradicate itself.
- I wish Labour would give Corbyn a chance and stand closely behind him, and that Corbyn moves a bit more towards the centre without giving up his ideals.
- I wish the SNP would feel more British, accept the vote, and stop splitting Scotland into two camps of Yes and No.
- I wish Nick Clegg would return to lead up the LibDems, take this whole experience as a 'lesson learned' exercise and get the party back into shape.
There are a few more years till the next general election. Maybe by then I will be British and have a 'positive choice' from all the parties offering to make our lives better ones and lead us into a prosperous future! Of course only the future will tell.
PS: This morning, after I have finished my Tory part, I read about #piggate. I must admit, I haven't laughed so hard for a very long time. One thing is for sure, politics in the UK is and will never be boring! I can't wait for PMQ tomorrow.
Alexander S Puschkin, famous Russian author and poet in the early 19th century, said that once and I have the slight feeling not a lot has changed in the last 200 years.
When looking at the current political landscape in the UK, this seems to be the leitmotif of many of our political leaders; or do they really believe in what they are saying? I don't think I'll ever find out. But what I want to do is, to have a look at those people who call themselves political leaders, the men and women who head up our parties in the UK.
 |
| Sometimes I'm wondering if she can sleep or whether she secretly cries when thinking about her governments. |
The Conservatives:
There is David Cameron, the Tory leader and current Prime Minister. I remember the last but one general election and prayed to God the LibDems would form a coalition government with Labour, but they didn't; they have chosen the Conservatives. I struggled. And I feared for the worst. Listening to Cameron back in the days gave me goose pimples, that kind one gets when thinking about Hitchcock's Norman Bates shortly before he pulls the shower curtain open.
After so many years, one gets used to him, one's nerves are being numbed, I'd even say one feels like being captured by the Stockholm syndrome, that sometimes I feel I actually respect the PM for what he does. Till he opens his mouth and thinks in terms of "Rule Britannia". That always makes me cringe again, it overrules my Stockholm syndrome towards him.
My deepest problem with Cameron is, deep inside I agree with him - one can't spend more than one has, hence after the heavy debt situation he inherited, I am all for austerity, and so is he, and his Chancellor. And it's all about strengthening the economy, because a strong economy means foreign and domestic demand, this means more jobs, higher taxes and less benefits; roughly said. As stupid as the notion of "northern power house" is, but an evenly spread out economy is of course better than a highly concentrated one in the southeast of England. So yes, go ahead, please!
And let's also face it, Cameron waved this whole gay rights issue through Parliament like no other (Conservative) party leader ever has. Wow, something no Labour leader has managed beforehand. That's impressive. But, and there is a big B U T looming in the air, and this is this whole ill-fated dealing with Europe and Scotland, privatising big chunks of the NHS, and basically his whole elitist Etonian personality which disturbs me beyond belief. If it weren't for the EU and Scotland, I'd probably be a fervent Tory, but I simply can't; not because of different point of views, but of this immense stupidity of risking the future of our country. He doesn't oppose the EU because of a deep inner conviction, but because back benchers forced him to and he thinks he needs to stand up against that political scum called UKIP.
UKIP:
I don't want to write about them. They are scum, they remind me of Germany in the early 1930s, they use exactly the same techniques like the Nazis did - nationalism and fear, hatred and blaming minorities. They have no room in my blog.
Labour:
Last week Jeremy Corbyn got elected with 60% of the Labour vote. His 3 other contestants had to share the remaining 40%. I would say this is a major triumph. Congratulations to him!
Labour went through many changes in the last few decades. I still remember people like Neil Kinnock and the like, those that basically had to stand up against the Tories and Thatcher in particular, till Tony Blair appeared; and like Phoenix from the ashes, a New Labour rose to power. Well done him. I was a Blairite back then. And I have never ever thought I could be anything left of the centre. I then moved to England and in the late 90s I even joined. Well done me, I thought. But at a time when Blair started to go into bed with George Bush and play war lord, I gave up my Labour membership, as I felt I could not support a party and government that did such a thing. We now know it was the most stupid decision ever made by that former Labour government. Many lives were lost, for basically nothing. And the imbalance created back then was the breeding ground for the problems we are facing today, with ISIS and the lot.
Tony Blair was the role reversal of Dorian Gray. Pictures of his young self were still there, but he grew ugly over the years; not necessarily physically but politically. After he finally gave up, Gordon Brown faced the same fate as John Major did - both were dwarfed by their omnipotent predecessors. Miliband didn't get Labour back to speed. Now let's see what Corbyn will be able to do.
What strikes me the most about Jeremy Corbyn, he is so adorably anti-establishment. For my taste, politically he is slightly too much on the left, but I love the fact that he has backbone enough to (hopefully) remain the way he is and not change and become too politically elitist. I hope he doesn't kneel before the Queen, I hope he doesn't sing the national anthem if he doesn't feel like it, and I hope he doesn't stop seeing his voters in favour of representative duties for which we clearly have the royal family; the latter have nothing else to do in their 'job description'. The press attacks him left, right and centre about the way he behaves, but let me make this public now: The more the press rattles against Jeremy Corbyn for being anti-establishment and the more he remains the way he is, the more trust and faith I will have in him. Jeremy Corbyn has deserved a chance for success, let's give it to him!
SNP:
The SNP is a party that was founded years ago with only one purpose and target in mind - to break off the UK and gain Scottish independence. And the peak of it was last year's referendum which was also their biggest defeat so far - they lost the vote 45% vs 55%. And let me say this, I am truly glad they did, as I would not want to live in a dwarfed England. Scotland enriches the UK beyond belief. After the referendum was over I was so relieved not having to listen to Alex Salmond anymore. His more or less daily infiltrations were too much to bear. He handed over to Nicola Sturgeon.
My first reaction to her was rather negative, as it seemed to me she only chewed on stuff Alex Salmond already spat out. With him gone, leaving her the position as First Minister, she probably freed herself and was able to create her own image she wanted to be portrayed of. And blimey, did she do well! What I like the most about her is her "what you see is what you get" attitude. She is straight forward, appears open and honest and calls things by their names. One doesn't get the "Westminster bla" from her. Very refreshing.
And then they triumphantly conquered the House of Commons in the last general election. OMG! Wouldn't Nicola Sturgeon be the best Prime Minister ever? Well, she wouldn't, because we ought not to forget, deep inside the SNP want independence. She would basically be like a vampire from the Twilight Series - officially feeding from bottled blood, but there is always this intrinsic need for the proper stuff, independence in this matter!
LibDems:
I have always been liberal because I feel tolerance is a virtue, and this is something I subsume in liberalism - live and let live. This is also a very Christian and Humanitarian way of looking at life. Immanuel Kant's 'Categorical Imperative' is nothing else but Jesus Christ's 'Love thy neighbour'. I thought the LibDems under Nick Clegg came pretty much close to this. I was glad when the LibDems came into power in 2010.
The LibDems in the UK appear every 50 years or so in government and have just come out of such a vital part of their existence. They have never been overly visible and de facto left the country as a two party state - Labour and Conservatives. In the last coalition government I think they did good work; they kept the Tories at bay and didn't allow them to go overboard with Europe and certain other issues. I always liked Nick Clegg, for me he was the most trustworthy of all cabinet ministers, the most straight forward. Similar to Nicola Sturgeon he seemed to be a "what you see is what you get" person, a trait I highly appreciate.
Even though they managed to manage the Tories, in the end they were eaten alive by them. They had the chance of a lifetime to gain a profile and they wasted it utterly. Whatever the government did was recognised as Tory gain; publicly, the LibDems were just some junior partners that got to eat the left-overs the seniors threw at them. In other words, they were too busy with themselves and in their situation that they probably never looked forward to a time after the coalition. They got punished badly, extremely badly, and rightly so, as I am afraid to say.
The biggest disaster then was when Nick Clegg resigned. The only figurehead left actually left the political scene. He got a successor, his name is Tim Farron, but other than him being an evangelical Christian I have not heard anything from the party ever since. Evangelicals and tolerance has always been a contradiction in terms. It would be similar to a Thatcherite being member of a trade union. That's it, nothing else can be said about the LibDems - they simply vanished.
Choices over Choices:
So where does this leave me with my choice of party I should go for, maybe even join? Sometimes I am glad I am not yet a British citizen as I don't have to think too much about who to vote for at a general election. But still, who would I favour?
I think currently the decision making process it is more like "who is the least evil of all of them?" and I'd have to make a decision based on negatives. That's not what I want. I want to make a choice grounded on positives - "who is the best?" I am afraid to say, I can't do this right now.
In the ideal world I would wish the following to happen:
- I wish the Tories would give up their stupid Rule Britannia Attitude and feel more European taking on a leading role in shaping the EU and be part of it rather than against it.
- I wish UKIP would eradicate itself.
- I wish Labour would give Corbyn a chance and stand closely behind him, and that Corbyn moves a bit more towards the centre without giving up his ideals.
- I wish the SNP would feel more British, accept the vote, and stop splitting Scotland into two camps of Yes and No.
- I wish Nick Clegg would return to lead up the LibDems, take this whole experience as a 'lesson learned' exercise and get the party back into shape.
There are a few more years till the next general election. Maybe by then I will be British and have a 'positive choice' from all the parties offering to make our lives better ones and lead us into a prosperous future! Of course only the future will tell.
PS: This morning, after I have finished my Tory part, I read about #piggate. I must admit, I haven't laughed so hard for a very long time. One thing is for sure, politics in the UK is and will never be boring! I can't wait for PMQ tomorrow.
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