Pol O'Muiri: What do you know of real life Gordon?
Monday, May 12, 2008
Being 'out of touch' must be one of the biggest mortal sins that any
politician can commit. Adultery, financial chicanery and many other vices
can all be forgiven by the electorate but being 'out of touch' is the one
thing to ensure that a politician gets a severe kick in the opinion polls.
Witness last week's humiliation of the Labour Party, where prime minister
Gordon Brown was found to be so out of touch with the electorate that his
party was severely hammered at the local election.
Most people count their economic blessings by how much spare cash they have
in their wallets after paying for life's essentials — petrol and groceries.
Those essentials are now costing even more and spare cash has become as rare
as hen's teeth. Brown does not seem to have noticed. Going to the forecourt
now to fill up is akin to taking out a mini-loan. To fill my family car
takes more than £50 and I get to do that little pleasure, on average, every
10 days.
It is a lot of money and I am not indulging in Grand Prix driving, rather
just taking the children to school and driving to work. Gordon Brown has
been prime minister and chancellor for many a long year. You wonder when was
the last time he filled up his own petrol tank instead of being shuttled
around in his chauffeur-driven car.
You wonder when he last stood on a forecourt, watched the numbers ticking
over at a dizzying rate and waited for the final tally.
How to pay? Switch, cash or credit card? Is there enough cash in the wallet
or the current account? If I switch or pay cash, will I need to get a few
quid out of the savings to cover other bills this month — not that the
savings are looking that healthy anyway?
Do I really want to start putting petrol and groceries on the credit card
and watch those debts pile up? It is little surprise that voters took the
opportunity to remind Gordon of how they were feeling. That said, while
politicians can become out of touch with voters, it must be said that voters
can also lose touch with their own common sense.
How else do you explain the victory of Boris Johnston in becoming London's
new mayor?
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