There's a very strange diary column in The Independent on Sunday today by Mark Oaten. It's his first public utterance since he resigned. Unfortunately I can't link to it because The Indy is a subscription only site. Oaten says he's very happy not to be Home Affairs spokesman any longer and that he was always uncomfortable with the LibDem position on terrorism. He alaso spneds £15 on a jar of honey. The overhwlming impression was of a man trying to create subliminal messages. These were "please like me, please accept me, I'm a normal kinda guy who made a mistake - please don't hold it against me". Time will tell how successful he will be in carrying on as normal. On a personal level, I wish him luck. He's not a wicked man.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Mark Oaten and the Jar of Honey
There's a very strange diary column in The Independent on Sunday today by Mark Oaten. It's his first public utterance since he resigned. Unfortunately I can't link to it because The Indy is a subscription only site. Oaten says he's very happy not to be Home Affairs spokesman any longer and that he was always uncomfortable with the LibDem position on terrorism. He alaso spneds £15 on a jar of honey. The overhwlming impression was of a man trying to create subliminal messages. These were "please like me, please accept me, I'm a normal kinda guy who made a mistake - please don't hold it against me". Time will tell how successful he will be in carrying on as normal. On a personal level, I wish him luck. He's not a wicked man.
I feel deeply sorry for the poor man. He must have been very troubled and I hope he gets his life back on track one way or another. I felt deeply sorry for Stephen Milligan and Ron Davies too - it all gives rise to so much sniggering behind hands but the personal human tragedy is quite disturbing in all cases if you allow yourself to consider it for a moment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with so much of this but at what point do you just say that you are bloody stupid to
ReplyDelete(a) emphasise your family in the way he did
(b) stand to be party leader
if you were doing what he was doing. regardless of party I'm always rock solid on the principle that a persons private life is his private life. However he has strained even my patience.
Subconcious need to be caught, David. The mind is a strange thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard not to feel sorry for his family but it's a sign of the times that someone as stupid as he was has not stood down as an MP.Not because of what he was up to but because he had a wife and kids,put them up front of his campaign basically lining them up for one of the most horrendous falls.He must be one of the most selfish/stupid people around.All this namby pamby 'isn't it a shame' is a load of tosh.
ReplyDeleteI spoke on a platform with Mark on Thursday at a Friends of the Earth Winchester relaunch. Panel was Tony Juniper from FoE, Greenpeace, Green Party and us. 200 in the audience (yes, it's not a typo)
ReplyDeleteMark appeared pretty relaxed but excused himself immediately after he spoke.
"As you know I've been forced to think through many things over the last few weeks and quickly came to realise that I've had my work / life balance completely wrong. That means doing less things like this on a Thursday night so, if you don't mind, I'm going to go home now to be with my family."
Fair enough I suppose but he certainly avoided being on a panel where both of us were at a distinct information disadvantage.
" I've had my work / life balance completely wrong. That means doing less things like this on a Thursday night so, "
ReplyDeleteuhm, isn't his problem that he spent too much time with a rentboy rather than spending a Thursday night with the Friend of Earth?