History, like nature, does not work in linear patterns.
Neither plants and trees, nor animals, nor humans physically grow in one continuous flow. There are periods of stagnation, and then there are bursts and spurts of development. The same goes for History.
During the Middle Ages, for hundreds of years nothing much happened. And then, within just a couple of generations at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th Century, three momentous events took place – Landmarks, not mere milestones:
In 1492, America was discovered, albeit by mistake. I know the Vikings and maybe others had already been there before, but let’s just say that one Christopher Columbus of Genovese origin and sponsored by the Spanish Crown – if ever there was a good investment – had the better publicist.
Then, the Church was split by an obscure German friar and theologian called Martin Luther, at first somewhat reluctantly as he considered himself a mere reformer of an institution that subsequently, however, showed it didn’t care to be reformed. When asked to distance himself from his teachings before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521, he spoke the famous defiant words:
“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.”
This has rightly been ranked among the greatest pieces of oratory in human history – and note how he argued in three steps.
Finally, the printing press had been invented by Johannes Gutenberg around the middle of the 15th Century, fully intentionally, and this in turn greatly facilitated the spread of Luther’s and his “Protestant” followers’ teachings, not least of course his own translation of the Bible into German, making it for the first time both widely available and accessible.
In terms of Impact, think internet in our lifetimes as an apt analogy.
I am not going to get into the debate about who invented the “worldwide web”, but one of those claiming authorship in the Nineties was the American Democratic politician Al Gore, Vice President to Bill Clinton and ill-fated Presidential candidate in 2000 when, with everything going for him, he clawed Defeat from the Jaws of Victory and lost to George W. Bush.
I do, however, recall a very witty quip by Bush when he made fun of his rival’s assertion:
“Considering Al Gore says he invented the internet, there’s a lot of dubbyas [double u’s] in there.”
For a number of reasons I understand perfectly well, the Democrats don’t seem to be too keen on the prospect of another "Clinton White House" and are currently casting about to find a viable alternative just to avoid having to back Ms Clinton and finally succumb to her irrepressible sense of entitlement.
Which is where current Vice President Joe Biden comes into it, a candidate behind whom a lot of people, and maybe not just Democrats, would rally. In a typically personal, candid, and impressive appearance on American TV these past few days, however, he didn’t seem quite ready to throw his hat into the ring – if indeed he ever will:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/joe-biden-and-stephen-colbert-brothers-in-grief/404878/
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/us/politics/joe-biden-in-colbert-interview-expresses-doubts-about-bid-for-president.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0&referrer=
Finally coming back to accelerated phases in History, for another example, but here all crammed into a mere twelve months, take the year 1989 when Europe kissed good-bye to the “stability” of the Cold War – for better or for worse, the world has never been the same again.
And now, impressively, this past week, the Brits have managed to get three Landmarks into seven days. Do let me tell you all about it.
In chronological order, and maybe also a little by way of a climactic build-up, here is what happened.
In the evening of Tuesday 8 September, a certain Wayne Mark Rooney, native of Liverpool but now plying his footballer’s trade at Manchester United, scored a goal in an otherwise unremarkable international game between England and Switzerland played at Wembley Stadium. It was the first goal of the match, it was from a penalty kick, and England went on to win 2-0.
So if this was all as boring as I make it sound, you will ask, why do I bring it up in the context of Landmarks?
Well, this goal was Rooney’s 50th for England, making him the highest-scoring player in English football history. It took him 107 games to get there which, considering the national team he has the honour of playing for has been notoriously unsuccessful in his time, is a very respectable success story even for a striker whose job it is to score goals.
On that night, Rooney overtook the great Sir Bobby Charlton who between 1958 and 1970 scored 49 goals in 106 games for England – exactly the same record, but he did it as a midfield player, which makes his lifetime achievement slightly more impressive. Plus, of course, the fact that he was one of the leaders of the England team that won the World Cup in 1966 – to this day a one-off for “the nation that gave the world the Beautiful Game” (and many others actually). Just don’t get me started on The Third Goal.
Even if you are remotely interested in football and I haven’t lost you yet, you will ask what the exploits of a guy playing for England have to do with The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in total.
It’s because of the Welsh!
In parallel, and for the first time ever, they have managed to overtake England in the world body FIFA’s rankings – where they now tower in 9th place ahead of Big Brother in 10th!
Admittedly, these rankings are to be taken with a pinch of salt – very often, for example, the United States make it into the Top Ten because during the period under review they will have mostly played against assorted national teams from the Caribbean Islands who are not exactly titans in football / soccer. That said, the Americans recently lost to Jamaica and to Panama. And consequently now find themselves in 28th place with FIFA.
But nonetheless – Wales leaving England behind them for the first time ever, combined with Rooney’s 50th goal, surely adds up to a Landmark in UK (sports) history.
Now, let’s move on to Wednesday of last week and to a very special lady – Her Majesty the Queen.
Elizabeth II entered the history books yet again when she overtook her great-great-grandmother Victoria as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch during 9 September 2015. And in case you were wondering, this takes into account 63 years plus 16 leap days, additional months and days and the timing of George VI, her father's death on 6 February 1952.
Ever precise, Buckingham Palace calculated that Queen Victoria had reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes, taking into account 63 years, 15 leap days, additional months and days and the precise timings of her accession and death.
What a Landmark – especially when monarchies are rare animals these days. Of the 193 member states in the United Nations, there are only 44 sovereign nations left in the world (including the Vatican, which is not represented at the UN) that still have monarchs as heads of state, and 16 of these are Commonwealth countries reigned over by Elizabeth II! So much for her global relevance, if it needed any statistical proof.
And Her Majesty is an absolute trooper – I personally have nothing but deep respect for her. It cannot have been an easy ride, and at age 89 she still cuts a remarkable figure as the one holding the whole “Royals” show together. In her typical no-nonsense, business-like, and duty-bound way, she was in Edinburgh on Wednesday, opening up some boring railway. I hope she at least had a couple of celebratory G and T’s in the evening.
When it comes to the length of her reign, however, and while 63 years is certainly impressive, the Queen is only runner-up to King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who has been on the throne ever since 1946 and is the world's longest-serving head of state. The Bronze medal, just in case you were wondering, goes to Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman who has ruled, as opposed to being a mere figure head, his country since 1970 (and done a stellar job, if I may say so from personal experience).
I will always remember the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees in 2002 and 2012, respectively. While not living in the UK at the time, the Gietz residence lounge was on both occasions decorated with the corresponding commemorative tea towel prominently hanging from the fireplace mantle-piece. No effort was spared since, as someone on BBC so admirably put it, after all, "You can't have the pomp without the circumstance.”
For me, the highlights of the television coverage were on both occasions the open-air concerts, and the one picture that stands out in my memory is that of rock group Queen guitarist Brian May in June 2002, standing like a statue on the roof of Buckingham Palace playing “God Save the Queen”.
Check it out, please, and remember it next time you give a presentation: don’t fidget, shifting from one leg to the other; and don’t walk up and down, like a preacher looking for a purpose. Both these widespread habits will make people nervous and distract from the content of what you are talking about – just stand there rock-solid, Brian-May style, and tell your story which should be interesting and relevant to your audience, and on a good day, compelling.
Which brings me neatly to the third Landmark event of last week, this one occurring on Saturday.
“In one of the most remarkable twists in modern British political history” (Financial Times), and much to the rehabilitation of the pollsters, Jeremy Corbyn was indeed elected as the new leader of the Labour Party, with the impressive tally of 59.5% in the first ballot round. “An earthquake”, “a seismic shift”, “the country will never be the same” – it’s the season for journalistic hyperbole.
I already wrote most of what there is to say about him and the strange (s)election process last time, so let’s just look at how he has performed since the result was announced.
His acceptance speech had something of the Academy Awards ceremony, and I guess he does enjoy superstar status for now. His eyes glow with what I call the “final victory look”; he accepts the devotion of his followers with the resigned patience of a world-weary prophet; and his articulations are all firmly aiming at the Beyond of British politics – while his campaign team, clad in red t-shirts, chant “Jez We Can”. A fan club of jezters. Seriously.
Once he had thanked everybody and their mothers, he tried to be funny. Speaking of and to his three contestants in the leadership race, reminiscing the many hours they had spent together at public meetings and debates over the course of the campaign, he suggested, “We should reform ourselves as an ABBA tribute band.”
Jeremy (Corbyn), Andy (Burnham), Liz (Kendall), and Yvette (Cooper) as the new Agnetha (Fältskog), Björn (Ulvaeus), Benny (Andersson), and Anni-Frid (Lyngstad).
JALY (pronounced “Jay-Lie”) anyone? I’m happy to confirm the world will have to forego this particular musical and aesthetic delight, if only because Liz and Yvette have since taken to the hills, preferring the anonymity of the back benches in Westminster to any public association with their new charismatic leader, on-stage or off.
Did I say “charismatic”? You shouldn’t judge people by their sense of style, but one of the recurring themes has been that Corbyn comes across as “too scruffy and untidy”. Does a politician have to “look the part” to inspire confidence in their leadership? Probably yes, as do we.
If then, in addition, there is also substance behind the appealing exterior, all the better of course. But now we are venturing into very thinly populated territory.
David Cameron, always impeccably turned out, responded immediately once he saw the tide of public opinion turn following the printing on every newspaper front page of the appalling, heart-breaking photo of the little four-year-old refugee boy washed up dead on the Turkish shore. In all his to-camera statements, Cameron carefully prefaced his announcement that the government would finally do something about the crisis by opening up with, “As a father…” That’s PR, baby!
He has since announced the UK would take 20,000 refugees by 2020 (a great line, easy to remember). On 12 September, Corbyn Day, alone, 12,000 arrived at Munich central train station…
Meanwhile, two more serious criticisms levelled at the new Labour leader have been that his policies are just too crazy left-wing ever to be electable by a majority of the voters (which I guess was the idea) – “way out there”, the Americans would say, and putting Britain at risk, the Conservatives are saying.
And, importantly, now that he has begun picking his leadership team – in UK terms, the Shadow Cabinet, which identifies Opposition individuals to be in charge of a certain portfolio with the task of breathing down the neck of the actual government incumbent – it has rightly been pointed out there is a distinct lack of women in his senior ranks.
And while Liz and Yvette are not available, neither for JALY (“Jay-Lie”) nor for The Shadows (pun fully intended), statistically speaking, there should indeed be other female Labour politicians perfectly capable of “kicking Conservative butt”.
One he did find is Heidi Alexander, the new Shadow Health Secretary, not just in the land of the National Health Service (NHS) an important appointment, and for the tobacco industry even more so of course. When asked about her qualifications for the role, she readily admitted she didn’t know too much about it, but proudly recalled she had once campaigned against the closing of a hospital. Really?
Things are not helped, of course, by the fact that within the first 24 hours or so a dozen-odd perfectly capable and experienced members of the former Party leadership, regardless of gender, had already fled.
Another woman is the new Shadow Defence Secretary, Maria Eagle who acknowledged there might be some differences with the boss about details like maintaining the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent capabilities. Surely not?
Otherwise, Jeremy Corbyn got off to a flying start…
To me, he looks like an impostor waiting to be found out and kicked out, but determined to enjoy the situation and cause as much mischief as possible in the meantime.
Bottom line: “Labour cannot function as an opposition with a leader and a frontbench team who do not appear to be up to the job or willing to take it seriously.” (The Times, 14 September 2015)
I wonder what the Queen is thinking about “Her Majesty’s Opposition”. Is she maybe dreading the day she will be made to read out in the Houses of Parliament “The Queen’s Speech” (the UK Government’s legislative program for the coming year) in which Prime Minister Corbyn – a republican through and through who, unlike Brian May, refuses to join in when the National Anthem, “God Save the Queen”, is sung - announces the abolition of the monarchy?
Never fear, Ma’am – ain’t gonna happen, not on your watch anyway.
So why am I complaining? Don’t I always bemoan the fact that “conviction politicians” are few and far between? And now that, in a Landmark development, the UK has finally produced one, all I do is make fun of him?
I do like politicians with convictions, and I wish there more of them to choose from, but only if their beliefs are fit for purpose in the present; if they are technically up to the job and can contribute to solving the real, burning issues we face; and if they represent the aspirations of a majority of voters. Jez’ 59.5% translate into 251,417 people, less than 0.5% of the British population.
Exit Corbyn, Stage Left where he came from.
By now, I guess you get my point: all the while, both in our personal and professional lives, we are too busy racing past milestones that we fail to identify, aspire to, and celebrate Landmarks.
In times of turmoil, however, what we rightly consider Landmarks can become pretty insignificant.
Before our eyes, what we pride ourselves to be “Europe” is failing vis-à-vis the worst humanitarian emergency our privileged continent has witnessed since World War II. I read somewhere that “Europe” only functions when it’s about money, see Austerity and how we have somehow muddled through the Greek debt crisis – sad but true.
To my limited understanding, our “European” culture, civilisation, and values rest on three pillars – Christianity as articulated in the Sermon on the Mount (Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7); Humanism and the Renaissance which put the individual at the centre of the world (“Man is the measure of all things”); and the Age of Enlightenment emphasising reason, analysis, and toleration.
I hope those poor refugees from Syria and elsewhere are not too disappointed once they get here.
During the Middle Ages, for hundreds of years nothing much happened. And then, within just a couple of generations at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th Century, three momentous events took place – Landmarks, not mere milestones:
In 1492, America was discovered, albeit by mistake. I know the Vikings and maybe others had already been there before, but let’s just say that one Christopher Columbus of Genovese origin and sponsored by the Spanish Crown – if ever there was a good investment – had the better publicist.
Then, the Church was split by an obscure German friar and theologian called Martin Luther, at first somewhat reluctantly as he considered himself a mere reformer of an institution that subsequently, however, showed it didn’t care to be reformed. When asked to distance himself from his teachings before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521, he spoke the famous defiant words:
“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.”
This has rightly been ranked among the greatest pieces of oratory in human history – and note how he argued in three steps.
Finally, the printing press had been invented by Johannes Gutenberg around the middle of the 15th Century, fully intentionally, and this in turn greatly facilitated the spread of Luther’s and his “Protestant” followers’ teachings, not least of course his own translation of the Bible into German, making it for the first time both widely available and accessible.
In terms of Impact, think internet in our lifetimes as an apt analogy.
I am not going to get into the debate about who invented the “worldwide web”, but one of those claiming authorship in the Nineties was the American Democratic politician Al Gore, Vice President to Bill Clinton and ill-fated Presidential candidate in 2000 when, with everything going for him, he clawed Defeat from the Jaws of Victory and lost to George W. Bush.
I do, however, recall a very witty quip by Bush when he made fun of his rival’s assertion:
“Considering Al Gore says he invented the internet, there’s a lot of dubbyas [double u’s] in there.”
For a number of reasons I understand perfectly well, the Democrats don’t seem to be too keen on the prospect of another "Clinton White House" and are currently casting about to find a viable alternative just to avoid having to back Ms Clinton and finally succumb to her irrepressible sense of entitlement.
Which is where current Vice President Joe Biden comes into it, a candidate behind whom a lot of people, and maybe not just Democrats, would rally. In a typically personal, candid, and impressive appearance on American TV these past few days, however, he didn’t seem quite ready to throw his hat into the ring – if indeed he ever will:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/joe-biden-and-stephen-colbert-brothers-in-grief/404878/
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/us/politics/joe-biden-in-colbert-interview-expresses-doubts-about-bid-for-president.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0&referrer=
Finally coming back to accelerated phases in History, for another example, but here all crammed into a mere twelve months, take the year 1989 when Europe kissed good-bye to the “stability” of the Cold War – for better or for worse, the world has never been the same again.
And now, impressively, this past week, the Brits have managed to get three Landmarks into seven days. Do let me tell you all about it.
In chronological order, and maybe also a little by way of a climactic build-up, here is what happened.
In the evening of Tuesday 8 September, a certain Wayne Mark Rooney, native of Liverpool but now plying his footballer’s trade at Manchester United, scored a goal in an otherwise unremarkable international game between England and Switzerland played at Wembley Stadium. It was the first goal of the match, it was from a penalty kick, and England went on to win 2-0.
So if this was all as boring as I make it sound, you will ask, why do I bring it up in the context of Landmarks?
Well, this goal was Rooney’s 50th for England, making him the highest-scoring player in English football history. It took him 107 games to get there which, considering the national team he has the honour of playing for has been notoriously unsuccessful in his time, is a very respectable success story even for a striker whose job it is to score goals.
On that night, Rooney overtook the great Sir Bobby Charlton who between 1958 and 1970 scored 49 goals in 106 games for England – exactly the same record, but he did it as a midfield player, which makes his lifetime achievement slightly more impressive. Plus, of course, the fact that he was one of the leaders of the England team that won the World Cup in 1966 – to this day a one-off for “the nation that gave the world the Beautiful Game” (and many others actually). Just don’t get me started on The Third Goal.
Even if you are remotely interested in football and I haven’t lost you yet, you will ask what the exploits of a guy playing for England have to do with The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in total.
It’s because of the Welsh!
In parallel, and for the first time ever, they have managed to overtake England in the world body FIFA’s rankings – where they now tower in 9th place ahead of Big Brother in 10th!
Admittedly, these rankings are to be taken with a pinch of salt – very often, for example, the United States make it into the Top Ten because during the period under review they will have mostly played against assorted national teams from the Caribbean Islands who are not exactly titans in football / soccer. That said, the Americans recently lost to Jamaica and to Panama. And consequently now find themselves in 28th place with FIFA.
But nonetheless – Wales leaving England behind them for the first time ever, combined with Rooney’s 50th goal, surely adds up to a Landmark in UK (sports) history.
Now, let’s move on to Wednesday of last week and to a very special lady – Her Majesty the Queen.
Elizabeth II entered the history books yet again when she overtook her great-great-grandmother Victoria as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch during 9 September 2015. And in case you were wondering, this takes into account 63 years plus 16 leap days, additional months and days and the timing of George VI, her father's death on 6 February 1952.
Ever precise, Buckingham Palace calculated that Queen Victoria had reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes, taking into account 63 years, 15 leap days, additional months and days and the precise timings of her accession and death.
What a Landmark – especially when monarchies are rare animals these days. Of the 193 member states in the United Nations, there are only 44 sovereign nations left in the world (including the Vatican, which is not represented at the UN) that still have monarchs as heads of state, and 16 of these are Commonwealth countries reigned over by Elizabeth II! So much for her global relevance, if it needed any statistical proof.
And Her Majesty is an absolute trooper – I personally have nothing but deep respect for her. It cannot have been an easy ride, and at age 89 she still cuts a remarkable figure as the one holding the whole “Royals” show together. In her typical no-nonsense, business-like, and duty-bound way, she was in Edinburgh on Wednesday, opening up some boring railway. I hope she at least had a couple of celebratory G and T’s in the evening.
When it comes to the length of her reign, however, and while 63 years is certainly impressive, the Queen is only runner-up to King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who has been on the throne ever since 1946 and is the world's longest-serving head of state. The Bronze medal, just in case you were wondering, goes to Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman who has ruled, as opposed to being a mere figure head, his country since 1970 (and done a stellar job, if I may say so from personal experience).
I will always remember the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees in 2002 and 2012, respectively. While not living in the UK at the time, the Gietz residence lounge was on both occasions decorated with the corresponding commemorative tea towel prominently hanging from the fireplace mantle-piece. No effort was spared since, as someone on BBC so admirably put it, after all, "You can't have the pomp without the circumstance.”
For me, the highlights of the television coverage were on both occasions the open-air concerts, and the one picture that stands out in my memory is that of rock group Queen guitarist Brian May in June 2002, standing like a statue on the roof of Buckingham Palace playing “God Save the Queen”.
Check it out, please, and remember it next time you give a presentation: don’t fidget, shifting from one leg to the other; and don’t walk up and down, like a preacher looking for a purpose. Both these widespread habits will make people nervous and distract from the content of what you are talking about – just stand there rock-solid, Brian-May style, and tell your story which should be interesting and relevant to your audience, and on a good day, compelling.
Which brings me neatly to the third Landmark event of last week, this one occurring on Saturday.
“In one of the most remarkable twists in modern British political history” (Financial Times), and much to the rehabilitation of the pollsters, Jeremy Corbyn was indeed elected as the new leader of the Labour Party, with the impressive tally of 59.5% in the first ballot round. “An earthquake”, “a seismic shift”, “the country will never be the same” – it’s the season for journalistic hyperbole.
I already wrote most of what there is to say about him and the strange (s)election process last time, so let’s just look at how he has performed since the result was announced.
His acceptance speech had something of the Academy Awards ceremony, and I guess he does enjoy superstar status for now. His eyes glow with what I call the “final victory look”; he accepts the devotion of his followers with the resigned patience of a world-weary prophet; and his articulations are all firmly aiming at the Beyond of British politics – while his campaign team, clad in red t-shirts, chant “Jez We Can”. A fan club of jezters. Seriously.
Once he had thanked everybody and their mothers, he tried to be funny. Speaking of and to his three contestants in the leadership race, reminiscing the many hours they had spent together at public meetings and debates over the course of the campaign, he suggested, “We should reform ourselves as an ABBA tribute band.”
Jeremy (Corbyn), Andy (Burnham), Liz (Kendall), and Yvette (Cooper) as the new Agnetha (Fältskog), Björn (Ulvaeus), Benny (Andersson), and Anni-Frid (Lyngstad).
JALY (pronounced “Jay-Lie”) anyone? I’m happy to confirm the world will have to forego this particular musical and aesthetic delight, if only because Liz and Yvette have since taken to the hills, preferring the anonymity of the back benches in Westminster to any public association with their new charismatic leader, on-stage or off.
Did I say “charismatic”? You shouldn’t judge people by their sense of style, but one of the recurring themes has been that Corbyn comes across as “too scruffy and untidy”. Does a politician have to “look the part” to inspire confidence in their leadership? Probably yes, as do we.
If then, in addition, there is also substance behind the appealing exterior, all the better of course. But now we are venturing into very thinly populated territory.
David Cameron, always impeccably turned out, responded immediately once he saw the tide of public opinion turn following the printing on every newspaper front page of the appalling, heart-breaking photo of the little four-year-old refugee boy washed up dead on the Turkish shore. In all his to-camera statements, Cameron carefully prefaced his announcement that the government would finally do something about the crisis by opening up with, “As a father…” That’s PR, baby!
He has since announced the UK would take 20,000 refugees by 2020 (a great line, easy to remember). On 12 September, Corbyn Day, alone, 12,000 arrived at Munich central train station…
Meanwhile, two more serious criticisms levelled at the new Labour leader have been that his policies are just too crazy left-wing ever to be electable by a majority of the voters (which I guess was the idea) – “way out there”, the Americans would say, and putting Britain at risk, the Conservatives are saying.
And, importantly, now that he has begun picking his leadership team – in UK terms, the Shadow Cabinet, which identifies Opposition individuals to be in charge of a certain portfolio with the task of breathing down the neck of the actual government incumbent – it has rightly been pointed out there is a distinct lack of women in his senior ranks.
And while Liz and Yvette are not available, neither for JALY (“Jay-Lie”) nor for The Shadows (pun fully intended), statistically speaking, there should indeed be other female Labour politicians perfectly capable of “kicking Conservative butt”.
One he did find is Heidi Alexander, the new Shadow Health Secretary, not just in the land of the National Health Service (NHS) an important appointment, and for the tobacco industry even more so of course. When asked about her qualifications for the role, she readily admitted she didn’t know too much about it, but proudly recalled she had once campaigned against the closing of a hospital. Really?
Things are not helped, of course, by the fact that within the first 24 hours or so a dozen-odd perfectly capable and experienced members of the former Party leadership, regardless of gender, had already fled.
Another woman is the new Shadow Defence Secretary, Maria Eagle who acknowledged there might be some differences with the boss about details like maintaining the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent capabilities. Surely not?
Otherwise, Jeremy Corbyn got off to a flying start…
To me, he looks like an impostor waiting to be found out and kicked out, but determined to enjoy the situation and cause as much mischief as possible in the meantime.
Bottom line: “Labour cannot function as an opposition with a leader and a frontbench team who do not appear to be up to the job or willing to take it seriously.” (The Times, 14 September 2015)
I wonder what the Queen is thinking about “Her Majesty’s Opposition”. Is she maybe dreading the day she will be made to read out in the Houses of Parliament “The Queen’s Speech” (the UK Government’s legislative program for the coming year) in which Prime Minister Corbyn – a republican through and through who, unlike Brian May, refuses to join in when the National Anthem, “God Save the Queen”, is sung - announces the abolition of the monarchy?
Never fear, Ma’am – ain’t gonna happen, not on your watch anyway.
So why am I complaining? Don’t I always bemoan the fact that “conviction politicians” are few and far between? And now that, in a Landmark development, the UK has finally produced one, all I do is make fun of him?
I do like politicians with convictions, and I wish there more of them to choose from, but only if their beliefs are fit for purpose in the present; if they are technically up to the job and can contribute to solving the real, burning issues we face; and if they represent the aspirations of a majority of voters. Jez’ 59.5% translate into 251,417 people, less than 0.5% of the British population.
Exit Corbyn, Stage Left where he came from.
By now, I guess you get my point: all the while, both in our personal and professional lives, we are too busy racing past milestones that we fail to identify, aspire to, and celebrate Landmarks.
In times of turmoil, however, what we rightly consider Landmarks can become pretty insignificant.
Before our eyes, what we pride ourselves to be “Europe” is failing vis-à-vis the worst humanitarian emergency our privileged continent has witnessed since World War II. I read somewhere that “Europe” only functions when it’s about money, see Austerity and how we have somehow muddled through the Greek debt crisis – sad but true.
To my limited understanding, our “European” culture, civilisation, and values rest on three pillars – Christianity as articulated in the Sermon on the Mount (Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7); Humanism and the Renaissance which put the individual at the centre of the world (“Man is the measure of all things”); and the Age of Enlightenment emphasising reason, analysis, and toleration.
I hope those poor refugees from Syria and elsewhere are not too disappointed once they get here.
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