ALTHOUGH CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES may not provide the best examples of the reasons leading to this sentiment, there are times when one feels somewhat proud to be English and – in a wider sense – part of the democratic tradition that has produced the institutions and attitudes forming the gleaming lights in the modern world that are the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
THE RECENT RESIGNATION OF ANDREW MITCHELL, perhaps the third most important member of the governing Conservative and Unionist Party, is one of some events that show the enormous gap existing between the Anglo-Saxon notion of what politicians are supposed to be doing and the notion that appears to be prevalent in the world at large, and particularly among our European brother and sister countries.
“PLEBGATE” AS THE POPULAR PRESS now seems to be calling the Mitchell case, is remarkable for two aspects. The first of these is that the Chief Whip to the Government travelled about by bicycle, which is increasingly a trademark of upper class political Englishness; the second is, obviously, that such a grandee in, arguably, one of the most important countries in the world can be brought to his knees due to being rude to a policeman.
ANOTHER EVENT INVOLVES HAPLESS George “Boy” Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer and millionaire, who was caught travelling on a train from Cheshire to London Euston in the first class compartment only possessing a ticket for a standard carriage. The aspect of note here is the fact that he was on a train. And that he then happily paid the £160 “fine” or “excess fee”.
I WAS RECENTLY STUDYING a European Union document on “expenditure” (read “waste”) by politicians in Greece, Italy and Portugal, and was alarmed to see that the norm was for ministers to have an average of six personal private political secretaries and one twenty-four hour chauffeur-driven car (three drivers over a 24-hour period) in these countries, thus drawing – at least to my mind – a direct parallel between excess in political expenditure and national bankruptcy.. Perhaps the “troika-enforced” cuts in these countries could start out by getting more politicians to go by train or – perish the thought – by bicycle. Of course they could carry on being as aloof and insulting to the plebs as they have always been, but at least they could save their countrymen some cash.
I have this friend who lived three years in Australia and he went everywhere in his bicycle. Now, he wasn't a politician. He still isn't, for what is worth, otherwise I seriously doubt that we would be friends.
ReplyDeleteBut the point is he travelled this way because the streets were all levelled. This means that the roads were in a good state, unlike the streets of Lisbon where you don't know if you stepping on rock, garbage or just falling into a sewer.
This in Portugal (read Lisbon) is impossible. Not just for us "plebs" but for politicians as well. Here are some of the reasons why:
#1: they are politicians to get enough money to buy their unborn great grandchildren cars.
#2: they are just better people! I mean, a guy that wakes up in the morning, puts on his suit and goes to the parliament to log on Facebook (https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/267637_10151495371674148_1649930171_n.jpg) does hard work, he's just a better guy that works hard everyday and still gets the minimum wage.
#3: they worked so hard to get where they are. (Miguel Grass, the non-greek Sócrates, for example).
#4: Because riding a bicycle in public will probably get them killed (ok, this one is actually true).
Well, I think I've made my point. Portugal's history (should I say tradition?) of politicians and their ways is not the best but we carry on with it. Why? Because old people say that Salazar was the best, the rich still get their money, the working class still struggles to survive, the poor people sleep on the streets, the young people that vote vote blank as a way of protest that everyone seems to ignore and the rest of the young people that are allowed to vote choose not to because "politics is not for me" (this is 90% of the young people, I'd say!) So the guys that are ministers or politicians in general (save the very few good ones) stay there and do what they want and get what they want. There is no country with as much freedom as this one!
Cheers!