I've noticed how we've become a nation that doesn't like to say sorry, even when we are clearly wrong. It used to be an annoying British thing. Say sorry and move on. Like brushing the whole thing under the carpet, but using words. People don't like to do that. Can't blame them really. It seems to be perceived as a sign of weakness. It also seems these days to lead to out of control spin where legal and professional liability is owned by the apologiser, often with dire personal and legal consequences. It's not seen at the decent thing, but the stupid thing to do.
We've had a day of saying sorry today. Gordon Brown has said sorry for what is now being called "Smeargate." He's even apologised personally to the people now being called "Smearees" by the media. I wonder if this means he's finally passed the "Smear test"? Georgie "Woo What a Big Boat" Osborne, who got to keep his job after his most recent indiscretion, is going on the news shows all guns blazing with a call for a restoration of decency in Number 10. Of course he means that the Conservatives should be elected into government. I guess if you can't get your policies across and your economic strategies don't actually make any sense, then you might as well divert focus onto something more trivial.
The next thing is that Damien Green isn't being prosecuted for leaking confidential government documents. They were confidential, and they were leaked. But that's not the point. It's become a matter of whether the material leaked was actually harmful to national security or not. Jacqui Smith, who should really have gone long ago for a variety of reasons already discussed on these pages, should have checked all this out long before sending the stormtroopers in to raid his office in the House of Commons. What is clear is that if you are in a position of trusted authority in this nation, and you don't want to get arrested, then don't leak confidential government documents.
What we are really left with at the end of all these charades is two apologies and now we're moving onto the next thing. Jacqui still looks silly, Gordon is still having his leadership questioned, and George still looks like an ambitious, out of touch, whining elitist. The only real change we've had from all this is a few more people know who Nadine Dorries is.
We've had a day of saying sorry today. Gordon Brown has said sorry for what is now being called "Smeargate." He's even apologised personally to the people now being called "Smearees" by the media. I wonder if this means he's finally passed the "Smear test"? Georgie "Woo What a Big Boat" Osborne, who got to keep his job after his most recent indiscretion, is going on the news shows all guns blazing with a call for a restoration of decency in Number 10. Of course he means that the Conservatives should be elected into government. I guess if you can't get your policies across and your economic strategies don't actually make any sense, then you might as well divert focus onto something more trivial.
The next thing is that Damien Green isn't being prosecuted for leaking confidential government documents. They were confidential, and they were leaked. But that's not the point. It's become a matter of whether the material leaked was actually harmful to national security or not. Jacqui Smith, who should really have gone long ago for a variety of reasons already discussed on these pages, should have checked all this out long before sending the stormtroopers in to raid his office in the House of Commons. What is clear is that if you are in a position of trusted authority in this nation, and you don't want to get arrested, then don't leak confidential government documents.
What we are really left with at the end of all these charades is two apologies and now we're moving onto the next thing. Jacqui still looks silly, Gordon is still having his leadership questioned, and George still looks like an ambitious, out of touch, whining elitist. The only real change we've had from all this is a few more people know who Nadine Dorries is.
2 comments:
Teaching us a lot these days aren't they:-D
Funny kim, since I wrote this, some the names have changed, but absolutely nothing else! Hope you're well x
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