A fascinating aspect of Theresa May’s recent general election debacle was the
manifesto screw-up for which Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill have now quit.
Unfortunately for May the screw-up was obvious before the election. Questions
about her competence are now equally obvious, yet that is not the fascinating
aspect of it all. To a large degree the recent election was a contest between
two dorks, which may be deplorable but may be a symptom of something else too.
On the one hand we had a seventies-style socialist with no political credibility whatever apart from a recent spot of good luck which may or may not be sufficient to carry him over the line at some future date.
On the other hand we had a limited Prime Minister without a distinguished
political track record apart from a run of luck which has now apparently
expired.
This isn’t how we might expect democracy to work because
without an array of credible choices we cannot be said to have a choice in the first place. Opting for one dork over another dork is a major democratic limitation and many voters must have seen themselves in the position
of having to choose between the lesser of two evils.
One obvious conclusion is that we are in a parlous state and
may be in for some damaging political consequences. A slightly less obvious
conclusion is that political posturing has had its day, the sun is setting on democratic political choice and manifestos no longer matter anyway.
When a Prime Minister cannot tell that her manifesto is
garbage; when the leader of the opposition cannot tell that his political standpoint has long been discredited then we may be faced with something more radical than any amount of
political posturing.
Global wheels grind their way into an unknown future and maybe having to vote locally for dork A over dork B is not so much a disaster as a casting error. Political dorks are merely glitches in central casting because real power has moved on.
Global wheels grind their way into an unknown future and maybe having to vote locally for dork A over dork B is not so much a disaster as a casting error. Political dorks are merely glitches in central casting because real power has moved on.
6 comments:
Just look at the result in Canterbury!
The studes all ganged up, vote leftie and now think they're fabulous world-leaders! Bet they're all congratulating themselves on getting degrees in money-tree arboration, so they'll never have to pay a penny for their 'work'.
Reality will kick in soon, but who cares, Jezza has spoken.
Dreadful scenario - avoid the BBC at all costs.
What you accurately describe is the failure of the politics in most of the western world, for years the two party system has droned on, your turn my turn with little benefit to the people they are supposed to serve.
This is now so obvious that parties will as in Brexit do all they can to retain the status quo whilst telling us they are working for the "best" result, no they are working to remain in or take power, and if that means prostituting themselves to a minority over the general population simply for votes they will do it, the examples are endless.
Trump whether you agree with the man or not has to a degree broken the system, and what do we see, every part of the establishment political and MSM 24 hours a day looking for something to critisise or dig up so as to diminish or preferably get rid of, even our ? BBC is obsessed with the man despite he having little to do with us, the sneering from within is sickening and a danger to what little democracy is left.
According to financial people out there the USA is going into recession in the very near future. Also, the markets are not to be trusted. So we have a hung parliament and a decapitated government just when it is going to get difficult, very difficult. Moreover there are a good many hard decisions to make and it seems that the electorate are averse to either making them or a government capable of doing so.
On a global scale the wages payable to Average Jo and Jill are headed downward wherever they live. There are plenty of them. New businesses will start wherever a concrete slab and electricity and suitable labour and finance can be found. Slow witted politicians with a slow witted party machine will simply miss the boat, business will not wait for them. This was the reality before Brexit was thought of and it is still the reality. The Brits had been hiding from this fact behind a property boom and QE. The rug has now been pulled.
Right now the UK has got the worst of all possible scenarios, a sclerotic political machine headed by poisonous factions eager to stab each other. But neither quite capable of finishing the job nor daring the first stab. Brexit was the most stupid idea on the face of the planet anyway but it pales into insignificance in the face of the present mess. Meanwhile the world will pass us by sniggering as they go.
For neither read non.
Scrobs - students probably think reasoning without experience actually works. Eventually most of them find out that it doesn't, but the lesson is a painful one.
Wiggia - it may be appalling but I like it. There are lessons to be learned about the limitations of party politics and maybe those lessons are being learned, at least by some.
Demetrius - maybe decisions will be made behind the scenes and all that is missing is a talking head prepared to claim the credit.
Roger - I think the world is not so much passing us by as catching up which it was bound to do. From our perspective it looks like decline and in a relative sense it is, but it was bound to happen and it was bound to appear as it does to us.
To my mind Brexit was a sound idea because on the inept implementation of the euro and the inability of the EU to handle structural economic differences between north and south, quite apart from its bureaucracy and dubious territorial ambitions.
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