As if this year has not been bad enough for politicians we now come to the highlight of any politicians year, their annual party jamboree. A time when senior members can strut around like peacocks, junior members can jockey for position and everyone can bathe in the warmth of a mutual admiration society.
For the duration of the party season expense fiascos and the cut and thrust of daily life at Westminster can be consigned to the back-burner as the parties take it in turns to bask in the limelight for the duration of their conference.
Whilst most of the population view this year’s shindigs with the same indifference that they have done in previous years there is always the gratifying thought that due to the time difference at least the speeches do not clash with the live coverage of the Rugby World Cup.
There is something very disconcerting in the way that most politicians claim that they viewed entering politics as a public duty when the greater majority of the electorate are of the opinion that they are self-serving egomaniacs.
It has to be said that I have sat through some pretty dire lectures and sales presentations in my time but nothing would ever persuade me to attend even one session of a party conference for any political organisation. I take my hat off to the anoraks of the party faithful who dutifully turn up year after year to listen to the same old balderdash churned out by the delegates.
If I was to make an appearance at one of these junkets then it would only be to watch the squirrels in the suits struggling to come up with a meaningful sound-bite in a climate of global doom and gloom and at a time when all the parties seem to be cast from the same mold of blandness.
There is part of me that concedes that the more the world changes the more it remains the same. As a nation we seem to wander from one disaster to another with the occasional highs and lows dotted along the way. It doesn’t seem to matter who is running the country at the time, life goes on and we all have to deal with the consequences.
You would hope with the global economy in such turmoil that there would be someone who could stand up and at least give the impression that they know what they are talking about. A statesman prepared to grasp the nettle and inspire people in the way that very few politicians can.
Looking around the world I don’t see too many great orators or leaders. Recent meetings of the G20 look more like a SAGA coach trip than a coming together of the most powerful people on this planet.
The class of 2011 does not cut an inspiring picture (some even found the task of behaving in an appropriate manner at a photo shoot beyond them). Angela Merkel cuts a lone figure as a matron tasked with controlling an unruly bunch of odd-ball patients. The diminutive Sarkozy seems happy in his role as glove puppet while Berlusconi endeavours to live up to his reputation as an Italian Stallion, Putin maintains his stance as the stereotypical KGB thug and Obama thanks the Lord for giving him a crack in his backside so that he can sit more comfortably on the fence.
On the smaller stage our political rallies are a cross between a scout’s jamboree and a celebrity book signing. In the future do you think that the next generation of political leaders will refer to David Blunkett, Alastair Darling and John Prescott’s biographies for inspiration – I suspect not.
There seems to be a dearth of characters with any gravitas in politics at present. Maybe the situation has been exacerbated by the well publicised drive by all the parties to attract more women into politics. Long overdue as this may be it is incredibly difficult for a woman to strike the right tone to make an impact on the political scene. Few possess the strident and forceful presence of a Thatcher, Mowlam, Widdicombe or Clinton.
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of male MPs who come across as impotent as the poor guy who has to open the doors on the first day of the Harrods sale.
One gets used to watching embarrassed ministers struggle to explain yet another set of appalling performance figures. Perhaps it is just me but I nearly always find the argument less convincing when it is a woman trying to justify the government’s position.
Why this should be eludes me. The impression I get is that women generally do the lion’s share of the talking in life (or is that the embittered husband in me). There are plenty of intelligent women who are more than capable of delivering a strong and effective message in the workplace – I am thinking of teachers, broadcasters, nursing leaders, the police and the growing number of women directors in industry yet , for me, putting a woman on a political platform just does not work. Are they less intelligent than men? – No; Are they less capable of presenting difficult issues? – No; Are they less trustworthy than men? – No; Are their views any less valid? – No. Are they any less passionate about issues they believe in? – again, no; So why is listening to the likes of Theresa May or Harriet Harman outlining a new government initiative about as inspiring as watching them standing on stage and reading out their weekly grocery list?
Maybe it is the age that we are living in. Growing up, you were given the sense that politicians were these revered figures, learned individuals who were closeted away in the corridors of Westminster and made decisions in the best interest of the country. Nowadays the emphasis seems to have swayed towards politicians being ‘a man of the people’ who represents the interest of his party. Call it ‘a new openness’, ‘more inclusive’ or ‘dumbing down’ as you wish but things are not what they used to be.
Politics always has been a murky world and always will be. The nature of the beast will ensure that there will be secret deals thrashed out behind closed doors but these days spin appears to overshadow debate, policy is no more than a series of sound-bites and the political statesman is as outdated as the Speaker’s breeches.
The only rallying cry I can see coming out of this year’s political conferences is ‘HELP!!’ and on that point all parties seem to be in agreement.
