The next Prime Minister?

[JohnL]

Blairite versus Brownite wasn't it - mattered at the time :)

Milliband needs to get some sexy socialism going (c.f. Alex Salmond)

Note: actually the parody said Sexy Socialism

- the real Salmond replied with Sexy SocialDemocracy !!!

[Parkdrive]

Salsaboy Wrote:

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> Why would a raw sausage be blindfolded?

>

> What RPC said, Balls. He's got the cojones to push

> things through under the guise of his bumbling not

> quite with it persona. Beneath the public village

> idiot lies a razor sharp brain.

Or alternatively, he really is a bumbling idiot.

[Robert Poste's Child]

I think Boris's idiot persona is just a veneer that he finds lets him get away with stuff and encourages other people to do things he doesn't want to do himself. It also taps into the British love of the underdog. I bet his PA loves him like nanny did.

[Parkdrive]

The British do indeed love an underdog, but a privileged "underdog" is less likely to garner sympathy.

[Loz]

Parkdrive Wrote:

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>

> Or alternatively, he really is a bumbling idiot.

If you believe that, you've completely fallen for the PR picture he wants to believe.

[Salsaboy]

I used to do some work for a lady who was the private secretary to a Tory MP and so knew Boris quite well. She said that he cultivated the bumbling buffoon image on purpose but his mind and thought process were as sharp as a knife.

[*Bob*]

Parkdrive Wrote:

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> Or alternatively, he really is a bumbling idiot.

He may not exactly be a bumbling idiot exactly (clearly he has some wit and sense of self - as indeed does Farage) but - seriously - how long is this myth of Boris going to be perpetuated?

He has the smarts when it comes to playing the game, playing the crowd, diversion and deflection.. but if you (not you, Parky, others!) truly believe him to be some sort of Superhuman Political Puppetmaster Genius - then you've been totally taken in.

Acting the buffoon (classic approved Boris terminology there) when you're not a buffoon does *not* automatically mean you must be at the other end of the brain scale.

[Robert Poste's Child]

As a get-out-of-jail-free card it seems to work pretty well for Boris, though, and (given his reputation for extra curricular activities) from a female point of view it's a lot more likely to be successful than the smug boyishness of Dave or Ed.

Not that I can imagine either of them is that interested in sex, which may be the problem. I'm coming round to the French way of thinking: I don't care any more what politicians get up to privately (as long as it's legal, between consenting adults and they're not coercing anyone). I just want them to be an effective, bold and credible leader. I can never look at Dave without thinking that's a school prefect's tie he's wearing.

[Parkdrive]

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

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> As a get-out-of-jail-free card it seems to work

> pretty well for Boris, though, and (given his

> reputation for extra curricular activities) from a

> female point of view it's a lot more likely to be

> successful than the smug boyishness of Dave or

> Ed.

>

> Not that I can imagine either of them is that

> interested in sex, which may be the problem. I'm

> coming round to the French way of thinking: I

> don't care any more what politicians get up to

> privately (as long as it's legal, between

> consenting adults and they're not coercing

> anyone). I just want them to be an effective, bold

> and credible leader.

Which is exactly why I don't see Boris as a credible leader. Just doesn't have what it takes to cut it for me on a global stage and especially in the field of foreign diplomacy. The bumbling buffoon character may be a PR exercise, very realistic though, but I wouldn't want to give him the benefit of doubt.

[david_carnell]

Spot-on Parkdrive.

I was about to suggest you couldn't send Boris to meet the US President and then remembered they elected Bush Jnr.

Perhaps the buffoons do win.

Scary prospect. But if he can convince London to elect him twice I can imagine him doing the same across the country. I do wonder how he goes down north of Watford mind you.

[*Bob*]

Yes DC, the unfortunate answer to the question "how clever is Boris" is probably "as clever as he probably needs to be".

15% of people in London probably mistook the office of Mayor for the ceremonial one where the guy wearing the funny hat comes out and rings the bell from time to time - for the benefit of a photographer from the local paper.

Another 15% seem happy enough with blue bicycles they never use.

[Robert Poste's Child]

I don't think it is something he puts on for PR reasons, I reckon it goes deeper into his personality than that, but I tend to agree with you that if he became PM he'd have to thin it out a bit or reposition it as some kind of charming British eccentricity. He has a lot of the showman in him (in a good way, unlike Blair for example) and I think he could pull it off, assuming his tendency to self-sabotage doesn't get in the way.

[holloway]

the tories could always be accused of adopting a 'born to rule' attitude, however that accusation could just as easily be laid at miliband (whichever one). i have no problem with ed coming from a political background but i can just imagine miliband as a smug 10-year old assuming one day he will be prime minister.

no one in british politics right now enthuses me at all although i agree with whoever said alan johnson was missed.

[Seabag]

Teressa May

Yeah, I reckon she'd be great

Can you imagine her tedious monologues pouring out at you

Actually, can't we step in and cross breed our Prime Minister/Monster? Surely we have the technology, all we need is the will

[Salsaboy]

Teresa May in a mortar board and cape, flexing a cane. Oo err missus.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Urgh, can't bear her. Think she would consider herself a 'man's woman'.

[Otta]

[Loz]

Jah Lush beat you by a whole page, Otta.

[Otta]

Oops, that's what happens when you use opera mini to read the forum on your phone (only thing I still use opera mini for).

Still worth another post though, whoever you support, that vid is a work of genius.

[Loz]

It's absolutely amazing. I've done a few bits of editing of home movies from ski holidays, cutting clips against a few songs and it's fiddly, to say the least. To find all the clips he needed to put the rap together and edit it in such a short time is truly incredible. And very funny.

[New Girl]

That is incredible! A work of pure genius.

Do we actually have a credible leader who we'd be proud to send to the Americans or Russians and would do the job? I honestly have no faith in any of them. I'm no labour bummer but I wish it was David heading up the opposition party and not his wet blanket of a brother. He seemed to have a few more balls and brain cells. But then again, the rest of them aren't much better.

[LouiseC]

Theresa May and Boris are both way more right wing than Cameron and Boris a lot sharper than he portrays which to me = more calculating in his approach. Sadly Milliband jr doesn't present an appealing alternative. Why oh why couldn't it have been David? If it had, I don't think it would be much of a competition.

[david_carnell]

The pining for Miliband Major is bizarre. He was Blair MkII and I'm yet to hear anyone on here sing his praises.

He's the sort of person who when he meets you is looking over your shoulder to see if anyone else more important is in the room. In my case there undoubtably was but you get my point....

He was a divisive politician and would have been disastrous for the party which would have torn itself apart. For all of Ed's faults, few outside the Labour movement realise what an amazing job he has done to hold the party together with little outward sign of betrayal or disloyalty. That's quite outstanding.

I voted for him and I'll admit I've been disappointed on a number of occassions. But when he's bold he can be surprisingly good and popular. And on a number of issues, especially renationalisation, the public are to the left of his position. There is room for him to make a prinicipled stand at least.

[El Pibe]

In fact, talking about how David Milliband would have got the party elected is the ultimate blairism statement, because it was all about getting elected, power for power's sake. There were no actual principles underlying it. Sure he cherry picked, he gave in a little bit to this faction, that interesting and enthused about whatever was in his head, Banging heads together in NI, NHS IT white elephants, murdering fuzzy wuzzies....

I doubt DM would have been as wholly devoid of underlying priciples as Blair, because I'm not sure anyone else is, hell, even the devil has principles, but if ever the phrase damning with faint praise was applicable....

[*Bob*]

Loz Wrote:

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> It's absolutely amazing. I've done a few bits of

> editing of home movies from ski holidays, cutting

> clips against a few songs and it's fiddly, to say

> the least. To find all the clips he needed to put

> the rap together and edit it in such a short time

> is truly incredible. And very funny.

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I thought it was a bit crap.

Impressive maybe in the same way that, say, an obsessive stamp collector might be. "Wow, you've put a lot of effort into that."

Funny in the way that Rory Bremner's show was.. ie 'not very'.