| April 23, 2008 | Wednesday | Rabi-us-Sani 16, 1429 |
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Waiting for spring
FOR readers without a first-hand knowledge of cooking utensils, let me quickly explain that Teflon is an artificial substance used to coat the surface of pots and pans to prevent ingredients from sticking. The term has now entered the political lexicon to describe a politician to whom no dirt sticks. If memory serves, it was first applied to Reagan who became known as the Teflon president. His avuncular air, benign smile and general dopiness combined to make him immune from criticism. His opponents despaired at the lack of traction their charges had when aimed at the octogenarian Reagan.
The next major politician this term was applied to was Tony
Blair. Despite taking his nation to war in the teeth of massive opposition and with the thinnest of information, and lying repeatedly to parliament and the public, he was re-elected with a comfortable majority. Scandals and allegations swirled around him, but he carried on, toothy grin in place, until he handed over the reins of office to Gordon Brown.
His successor has not been as fortunate in having a Teflon skin. After barely a year as PM, Brown is visibly not cut out for the job. His indecision and his lack of empathy have eroded his leadership. As Lord Desai said recently: “Gordon Brown has been sent to make us realise just how good Tony Blair was.” Considering these stinging words came from a member of the Labour Party, what is appearing in the right wing media can easily be imagined.
Brown’s woes have often been of his own making. For instance, in the recent budget, he eliminated the lowest tax limit of 10 pence, thereby hitting the wallets of over five million of the poorest families in the country. This has led to a revolt within the Labour Party as backbenchers have said their party was not in power to further impoverish the have-nots. Clearly, this budgetary provision makes little sense for a party that claims to be socialist. Although the rumblings in the ranks have subsided somewhat, the threat of a recession and the attendant economic pain can easily reignite the debate.
To add to his problems, Brown’s recent visit to the United States was widely seen as a public relations disaster. For some reason, the hapless Brown arrived in the US at the same time as the Pope. Inevitably, he was relegated to the inner pages while the Pontiff grabbed the headlines. The Drudge Report, the popular Internet news website, asked below a photo of Brown: “Who is this man?” Journalists in Britain took great delight in rubbing the salt into Gordon Brown’s wounds. The British PM heaped fulsome praise on George Bush, making many of his left-wing party members cringe in embarrassment.
As it is, the Conservative Party has been outperforming Labour in opinion polls for some time. But for Brown personally, the numbers are disastrous: according to a recent poll, he is the least popular prime minister since Neville Chamberlain. Currently, 37 per cent of Britons surveyed thought David Cameron, the Tory leader, would make the best prime minister, against 29 per cent who were for Brown.
However, as elections are not due for another couple of years, Brown has only a party rebellion to worry about. This is not an impossibility, given the constant sniping he is being subjected to from his own backbenchers. And given the worsening economic scenario, things are going to get worse for the government and for Gordon Brown.
The irony is that as Chancellor, he was widely credited with giving Britain a decade of unprecedented growth and prosperity. A bit like Shaukat Aziz, Brown might prove to be a better finance minister than he is a prime minister.
As property prices slide after a long period of steady increases, credit has suddenly dried up. And with the credit squeeze, economists are united in predicting a fall in spending, thus hitting the retail business. Despite low unemployment and low inflation, a recession is still possible. Indeed, an entire generation has grown up without first-hand knowledge of deprivation of any kind. These young people think nothing of flying to European cities for a weekend to watch a football match. But with the pound falling against the euro, fewer Brits are likely to travel.
The latest in the sub-prime mortgage saga is that the Bank of England has agreed to a 50-billion pound bailout to four major banks currently haemorrhaging red ink from their balance sheets. People are appalled that taxpayers are being placed at risk to rescue banks that are at the edge of the precipice largely due to their own greed. One TV comic, pretending he is talking to a banker, asks: “Do you mean to say that when you make a profit, you get to keep it; but when you make a loss, the taxpayer is supposed to bail you out?” The answer, after some humming and hawing, is “Yes”.
Together with this political and economic gloom, the weather has been unkind to Britain. Although spring has officially arrived, blustery winds and low temperatures have kept people indoors. Until just a week ago, sub-zero temperatures at night forced Brits to keep the heating on high. And to add to the woe of Londoners and people living in the South-east of England, a foul smell from the European mainland hung over several counties. Apparently, after weeks of cold weather, thousands of German farmers took advantage of a thaw to spread pig slurry on their fields as natural fertilizer. The smell from this excrement blew across the English Channel to the disgust of millions of Brits. “Der Stink!” ran one headline. Some observers muttered darkly that the Germans were getting even for losing the war.
But hopefully, spring will soon have sprung, and we will be able to go for long walks on the hills near Devizes where we live. And much to the delight of Puffin, our Jack Russell terrier, the squirrels will be out for him to chase. I’m sure Gordon Brown would like to be as carefree as him.
