I've just had the honour of being interviewed on Irish radio alongside Dana talking about celebrities in politics! It was she, who you might recall, won the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with All kinds of everything. She also ran for the Irish presidency and became an MEP. Some of you will know that as well as having a dodgy taste in football teams, I also have a dodgy taste in music. Indeed, I have been to two Eurovision Song Contests in my dim and distant past. This is a subject I might well retunr to during the course of the week unless you all behave yourselves. This 'A' list decision is becoming ever more explicable, isn't it?!
Monday, May 15, 2006
On the Radio with Dana!
I've just had the honour of being interviewed on Irish radio alongside Dana talking about celebrities in politics! It was she, who you might recall, won the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with All kinds of everything. She also ran for the Irish presidency and became an MEP. Some of you will know that as well as having a dodgy taste in football teams, I also have a dodgy taste in music. Indeed, I have been to two Eurovision Song Contests in my dim and distant past. This is a subject I might well retunr to during the course of the week unless you all behave yourselves. This 'A' list decision is becoming ever more explicable, isn't it?!
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19 comments:
Are you sure you don't mean inexplicable Iain? Just as you have everyone on your side with CCO's inexplicable decision to omit you from the A list you seek to alienate everybody by bringing up your very dodgy taste in music!
There's nothing even remotely dodgy about supporting West Ham.
However, it doesn't get much dodgier than Eurovision when it comes to music....
Anyway, my top of mind recall list of half way decent celebs in politics (based on competence, not ideology) - Arnie, Clint Eastwood, Michael Cashman, Seb Coe, Glenda Jackson, Sonny Bono.
On the downside, Ming, Alessandra Mussolini, Cicciolina.
Do you remember which station it was, Iain? I'd like to know if it's repeated later on today.
Newstalk 106.2 I think. I doubt whether it will be repeated.
It strikes me that this so-called A-list was drawn up with an eye to presentation rather than content Maybe I'm wrong and the pretty boy who dances in pop videos might prove to be a competent MP but I have seen little evidence so far.
The public aren't as stupid as our politicians seem to think. They certainly have the ability to recognise condescension when they see it and giving them a selection of pretty faces to choose from in some sort of Westminster reality tv show is condescending in the extreme.
So I have a radical suggestion for Mr C. I think I'll call it "The C-List"; where C stands for competence.
The criteria for candidates will be a proven ability in the outside world, preferably in business alined with the abilities to perform the functions of an MP, namely: represent your consituents and question everything the executive does whether it's from the opposition or government benches.
I realise it's a bit of a pipe dream, but maybe, just maybe, it's the kind of radical idea that could reignite voter interest in politics.
RM
Croydonian,
Arnie? Competent?
I worked with Dana for a while.
She really is the sweetest and kindest lady you could ever have the pleasure to meet (and I was treated to an acapella performance of All Kinds of Everything)
That's a shame - I thought it might have been RTE, in which case it would probably be on their website. I hope you were courteously treated, anyway.
Of coursehe's copetent. Didn't you see the news the other night?
He saved Columbia from this man-eating alien thing. Just him, some latina girl and a bow and arrow. Show me any other politician that can do that without messing it up
RM
anonymous, it was a pleasure not o be interrupted by the interviewer. A model interview!
Iain,
May I present an alternative argument regarding Rickitt?
I will first start by saying that I am very sorry that you have not been included as I believe that you are an excellent candidate and spokesman for Conservatism, though maybe part of the skill in being a politician lies more in what you choose not to say than in what you do say...
As for Adam, he is two years older than I, and yes I do feel that it can be aruged that he is too inexperienced. A lot of people are judging him by his performance on QT, which was poor. However, I remember seeing him on a programme called Loose Women, shown on ITV at lunchtimes. Lightweight? trivial? populist? Yes, Yes and Yes. But he had the audience of 100 women swooning, as well as the female panelists. Now is he a great debater? No, but he has a very high level of empathy which in my opinion is a very strong requirement for campaigning. He was able to adjust his answers to his audience, and lets face it, most of the electorate aren't interested in nitty gritty debate, or intellectual arguments.
And as for his intelligence? He is a private school boy from Chesire who got 10A*'s at GCSE and was offered a place to read Law at Oxford so I believe. It is fair to say he was in an industry where brains were not seen as an advantage, so he never played up to it.
Overall, I feel it is fair to say that there should be a place in the party for people like him, and he should not be written off too lightly.
Anonymous, I don't disagree. I have not criticised Adam at all and would never do so. I actually thought his Question Time performance was not as bad as most. I thought he handled the difficult questions better than the easier ones - which I guess is the way round you'd want it to be!
Anon at 10.26, quite possibly Adam is indeed rather smarter than the average bear, and may well have the ability to appeal to a certain demographic. However, would there ever be enough people in any given constituency to swing it thus?
Meanwhile, Barbara's post had me in fits. Bravo.
Does Dana still hold very conservative social views? She's in the frame (as an outsider) for the Irish presidency as well isn't she (according to politicalbetting.com anyway)
Oh, and liking Eurovision and politcs seems to go very well together. I'm a Conservative councillor who also holds the archive for the Eurovision Fan Club.
Mind you, don't offer to host a fan club convention. 40 grown men (and 2 women) in our restaurant, all clapping at different rates while one of their number did a dreadful karaoke version of last year's Belarus entry wasn't pretty!
With reference to my earlier post at 10:26:
My post was driven more the fact that in the blogosphere I have read few positive things about Adam Rickitt, and sought a platform to voice an alternative opinion.
As for Adam's appeal, it is certainly a point which will be severely tested, but if the practicality of campaigning is looked into he has some definite advantages.
He is already high profile, and in pretty well much every constituency he will be better known than the incumbent MP.
It is also fair too argue that he will probably have rather more time on his hands than most candidates.
Canvassing is where he will do best. The TV audience at Midday are the people who will be at home when the canvassing happens. Is it not true that most people are at work during the day, hence a large % of the voting population has no contact with their candidates? The people that he will have contact with are the ones who he will be able to empathise with.
I certainly think he has to earn his spurs and should not be given a seat (Macclesfield has been mooted). Though equally he should be given a seat where he has a realistic chance of winning if he performs well. Maybe Cheadle, Bolton West, Bury North or if we really want to test him, Crewe and Nantwich (he was born there).
Nick,
Dana still holds very orthodox Irish-Catholic positions on social issues
Actually I found the Belarus entry last year the most entertaining. At least it was a little different from the standard insipid stuff (sorry Iain, my tastes veer more towards satanic death metal - still each to his own).
As to Mr Rickett. Maybe he is brighter than he is being protrayed, but I still feel this whole A-list thing has been cooked up on the assumption that 90% of the electorate make their decisions based on the same criteria as the voting in reality tv programmes.
This concerns me as I would say that a lot more of the public actually do want to take their politics and politicians seriously. Sadly, the pols seem to want something else.
RM
God Iain, where do you live? Hush Puppy Gardens, Middle of the Road, Squaresville?
My favourite band is Led Zeppelin - and has been since I was a rather interesting Art student, 35 years ago. They may have broken up in 1980, but their music is still bloody awesome - and knocks the 'Boom Bang a Bang' crowd into a cocked hat.
God of Gods of course is the wizard of the Gibson Les Paul, the awesome Jimmy Page. Best guitarist ever - and that includes Hendrix...... If you ever get the chance, buy the double DVD of Zepp's live performances - a full five and a half hours of pulsating brilliance. BTW, his daughter, the Rock'n'Roll photographer, Scarlet Page has an interesting web site (and also a blog) here - http://www.scarletpage.com/
Blimey, even Christopher Soames before the last election professed to buying a Scissor Sisters album........ or was it Michael Heseltine?
And as Smashy always says, "Let's Rock!!!!!".....
Mike,
Yes, you're right about Dana's views on social issues - although to be honest, in today's Ireland Catholic positions are no longer "orthodox". We actually have more liberal laws than Britain on homosexuality, for example.
She's not really a contender for the Irish presidency either, I don't know why politicalbetting.com have her up there. It's very much a ceremonial job, anyway.
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