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NEWS DESK MICHAEL WALSH - 20th February 2001
TOP COLUMNIST SPILLS THE BEANS
Andrew Alexander, considered to be Britain’s leading political pundit and financial affairs columnist, has had it up to his back teeth with untruthful politicians. He reminds us of the three rules of parliamentary perspective: 1) It is a scandal but there’s been worse scandals. 2) British politicians are less corrupt than those of other countries. 3) Politicians always lie; it’s a plus on the CV.
History being longer than the present No.1 is obviously correct. No.2 isn’t necessarily true unless we’re talking about Israel or maybe Angola. No.3 Who is arguing?
Alexander says, "It was, in fact, the constant dishonesty of politicians which drove me to abandon daily reporting of parliament some 16 years ago. The general atmosphere of mendacity was not just tiresome it was also boring. What was so tedious was the semi-automatic, wildly exaggerated denunciation by each side or the other, to say nothing of the dishonest promises."
REPELLENT POLITICIANS
Expressing his disgust at parliamentary hypocrisy he adds: "Individual MPs thought they were being magnanimous if they told one over a drink that their denunciation of a particular opponent was merely ritualistic and that their target was a good guy really with reasonable proposals. They (the MPs) would be surprised at one’s disgust."
Britain’s top political pundit reminisced: "When starting at Westminster I asked a very senior political correspondent what he thought of the two main parties. He answered that all his professional life he had despised one party. It was the opposition party – carping, sneering and relentlessly manufacturing synthetic indignation.