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Why politics is shit (part of a continuing series)
April 28th, 2009 at 22:06
Despite being a relatively well informed person, who keeps up with the news and politics and takes an interest and all that, I’m stunningly apathetic when it comes to actual participation myself, such as with political parties or protesting or whatever. I like to think this is because my opinions are slightly more nuanced than what a placard can accurately portray – but it is also because of how stunningly depressing a lot of it is.
Obviously it’s pretty much the done thing to slag off all politicians, “they’re only looking after themselves”, blah blah blah. But this is only a cliché because of the regularity with which political figures re-demonstrate this tired argument for defeatism.
For instance, I was stunned to see that a bigger fuss hasn’t been made of Lord Bell, one of the key figures behind the Tories 1979 election campaign, is now running a public relations campaign for Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the President and dictator of Belarus (“The last dictatorship in Europe”). Who, my understanding is, a thoroughly nasty man – political opponents in Belarus tend to “disappear”, that sort of thing.
I could – maybe – understand, say, operating a business in a dodgy country – on the basis that globalisation can sometimes democratise, or that some money coming in is better than none or whatever – but to be employed by the Belrussian President to make him look good… I’m struggling to see the difference between Lord Bell and Lord Haw-Haw.
Having a look at Bell’s Wikipedia entry too, it tells me that he was also involved in the controversy over the shutting down of bribery and fraud inquiry into the selling of weapons to Saudi Arabia… arguing on the side of the Saudis, that the bribery claims shouldn’t be looked into. Amazingly, he was also apparently put on an Iraqi advisory board for the “promotion of democracy” – which I guess is equally as ludicrous as making, say, Tony Blair, a Middle East peace envoy.
And what the hell was he knighted and made a peer for? Services to Bastards?
Apparently Lord Bell used to have scruples, but then realised he could sell them off for a stack of cash instead.
Sigh.
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