And the word is kakistocracy
Theresa May’s government continues to set new standards or, to put it another way, plumb new depths. There you were, thinking that David Davies had smashed all world records for clueless Secretaries of State and then along comes the Northern Irish secretary Karen Bradley.
This week, she admitted that she didn’t know that the electorate in Northern Ireland votes along sectarian lines. Speaking in an interview with the in-house magazine of the Houses of Parliament, Karen presented this nugget of insight, or more accurately, presented herself as a nugget. “I didn’t understand things like when elections are fought, for example, in Northern Ireland – people who are nationalists don’t vote for unionist parties and vice versa. So, the parties fight for election within their own community.”
In terms of grasping the nuances of the political landscape of Northern Ireland, that’s very much like admitting that you didn’t realise that hills are the high bits and valleys the low bits. It’s like admitting that you always thought baby oil was made from actual babies. It’s like thinking that Greenland must be covered with a dense rainforest because otherwise it would be called Iceland. I could go on in this vein but I'll spare you. I will tell you, however, how old she is. She's 48. How could anyone of that age with political aspirations not understand how Northern Ireland works? Where has she been hiding?
This clueless individual is now changing the rules relating to elections to Stormont, to prevent another election in the near future. She’s not doing this out of concern for the well being of the people of Northern Ireland, she’s doing it because the British Government is terrified that if there is an election soon, the people of Northern Ireland, frustrated and angry as they are with the Brexit process, might very well elect a majority to Stormont in favour of reunification.
To paraphrase Albert Einstein. “Two things are infinite. The universe and the stupidity of the Conservative party.” If there is indeed a purpose to the rank cretinosity (?) of this Conservative government, it can only be to test our anger management skills.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, this is true. But that doesn’t mean all opinions are equal. It may be your opinion that the Moon is made of green cheese or that the Earth is flat, but that doesn’t make your opinion as valid as the opinion of a professor of geology or astronomy who has actually studied the processes of formation of the Earth and its Moon. It means you are a perfect candidate for a position in Theresa May’s cabinet. The opinion that no deal is better than a bad deal is the flat Earthism of modern British politics. Unfortunately we can’t send them off to the Moon where they can make trade deals involving all the cheese there. We’re living in a kakistocracy, which is a system of government that is run by the worst, least qualified or most unscrupulous citizens. Or, to put it another way, government by the shittiest.
There is however a serious point here. Quite clearly Karen Bradley was not selected for her job because she was the best qualified person to deal with the sensitive and delicate issue of Northern Ireland. A Northern Ireland which is poised on the brink of a hard border with the Republic and the destruction by the British government of the settlement which has underpinned peace in the province for the past 20 years. She got the job because of internal political manoeuvering within the Conservative party. Quite frankly, that is an outrageous dereliction of duty by the government. Her appointment makes it abundantly clear that this Conservative government has precisely the square root of zero's interest in doing what is right by Northern Ireland.
To make matters worse, it is obvious from the antics of a Labour opposition which is so wrapped up in internal feuding that it cannot make a dent on the polling of even this government of kakistocrats that it offers no relief, no escape route. That’s because they are kakistocrats too.
With a government and an opposition of kakistocrats, we’re all left covered in crap. British politics are irretrievably broken.
This week, she admitted that she didn’t know that the electorate in Northern Ireland votes along sectarian lines. Speaking in an interview with the in-house magazine of the Houses of Parliament, Karen presented this nugget of insight, or more accurately, presented herself as a nugget. “I didn’t understand things like when elections are fought, for example, in Northern Ireland – people who are nationalists don’t vote for unionist parties and vice versa. So, the parties fight for election within their own community.”
In terms of grasping the nuances of the political landscape of Northern Ireland, that’s very much like admitting that you didn’t realise that hills are the high bits and valleys the low bits. It’s like admitting that you always thought baby oil was made from actual babies. It’s like thinking that Greenland must be covered with a dense rainforest because otherwise it would be called Iceland. I could go on in this vein but I'll spare you. I will tell you, however, how old she is. She's 48. How could anyone of that age with political aspirations not understand how Northern Ireland works? Where has she been hiding?
This clueless individual is now changing the rules relating to elections to Stormont, to prevent another election in the near future. She’s not doing this out of concern for the well being of the people of Northern Ireland, she’s doing it because the British Government is terrified that if there is an election soon, the people of Northern Ireland, frustrated and angry as they are with the Brexit process, might very well elect a majority to Stormont in favour of reunification.
To paraphrase Albert Einstein. “Two things are infinite. The universe and the stupidity of the Conservative party.” If there is indeed a purpose to the rank cretinosity (?) of this Conservative government, it can only be to test our anger management skills.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, this is true. But that doesn’t mean all opinions are equal. It may be your opinion that the Moon is made of green cheese or that the Earth is flat, but that doesn’t make your opinion as valid as the opinion of a professor of geology or astronomy who has actually studied the processes of formation of the Earth and its Moon. It means you are a perfect candidate for a position in Theresa May’s cabinet. The opinion that no deal is better than a bad deal is the flat Earthism of modern British politics. Unfortunately we can’t send them off to the Moon where they can make trade deals involving all the cheese there. We’re living in a kakistocracy, which is a system of government that is run by the worst, least qualified or most unscrupulous citizens. Or, to put it another way, government by the shittiest.
There is however a serious point here. Quite clearly Karen Bradley was not selected for her job because she was the best qualified person to deal with the sensitive and delicate issue of Northern Ireland. A Northern Ireland which is poised on the brink of a hard border with the Republic and the destruction by the British government of the settlement which has underpinned peace in the province for the past 20 years. She got the job because of internal political manoeuvering within the Conservative party. Quite frankly, that is an outrageous dereliction of duty by the government. Her appointment makes it abundantly clear that this Conservative government has precisely the square root of zero's interest in doing what is right by Northern Ireland.
To make matters worse, it is obvious from the antics of a Labour opposition which is so wrapped up in internal feuding that it cannot make a dent on the polling of even this government of kakistocrats that it offers no relief, no escape route. That’s because they are kakistocrats too.
With a government and an opposition of kakistocrats, we’re all left covered in crap. British politics are irretrievably broken.
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