Yes that was me tweeting in German last night, digging into my modern languages education to remember all I could, and surprised how much that was. Truth is, as I am about to say to a conference in Berlin when I speak in English, French is the dominant foreign language in my head, and when I speak German off the cuff, my head goes all Franzosich. So writing is ok, and I will kick off auf Deutsch and then go into English when it gets a bit technical.
As it happens it is a conference on language and politics so no harm in mixing the three. And meanwhile I wake up to headlines suggesting Angela Merkel intends to campaign for Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential elections.
The reaction among my German friends last night – the ones who said Brits drink more than any EU country btw, so pretty well-informed – was that she has enough political problems of her own without adding Sarko’s load to her shoulders. The Merkozy brand is not quite what it was.
It is always a risk getting involved in another country’s election. When TB was riding high, we were under enormous pressure from social democrats around Europe to get him to campaign for them, and we said no more than yes. But when we did say yes – to Gerhard Schroeder in Germany, Wim Kok in Holland, Viktor Kilima in Austria and Goran Persson in Sweden for example, not to mention Putin when we thought he was a good guy – we spent the election nights worrying about whether we were about to have a major diplomatic repair job on our hands.
So with the French polls as they are, favouring Francois Hollande, Merkel will be following the French elections even more closely than usually she might. She stayed out of the British general election, perhaps because Gordon Brown was the incumbent and David Cameron the challenger.
I would love to have been privy to the chats as Sarko gently persuaded her to stick her neck out for him. But I am far from sure it is the vote winner either of them think it is. The people of Europe are not quite as emotionally bound up with the Franco-German motor as they are. One of the ‘democratoc deficit’ issues exploited by the sceptics is that many people feel they do not have their own national destiny in their hands. The sight of the German Chancellor riding to the rescue of a struggling French president might add to that feeling for French citizens, and be a factor tipping them in the direction of change.
On the basis of “my enemies ‘enema’ is my friend” presumably the two Eds will be campaigning for Sarky. They cannot be less effective in France than over here.
enshuldigung? zwei gross bier bitter, umm, eine gluckes noies jah, that’s it, I am out of german for the moment. But there is a few phrases I learnt from Mein Kampf, but I think I should leave that for now, don’t you think?
Were we talking of horney woman of any age? No, ok, never mind, but this vid and song is brilliant, and germans are interesting in their open outlook on sex – the films I saw on beeb two when I was young had my eyes popping out, let alone the german blonde young ladies on the beach on the gironde in La France on holiday – do they have any shame? as my tongue hanged out…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIofSxwkkQE
Agree completely. The right wing in Europe are not accomplishing much at the moment so better Ms Merkel keeps stumm.
Yes they have to be careful with all this, either Le-Pen being installed is the last thing we need.
Speaking about “democratic deficit” is the understatement of the year.
Germans simply want to run Greece. The aim of the EU is now to control the finances of Greece.
If a country cannot decide about its tax and spending plans, then it is not a sovereign state.
The goal of Eurocracy is a federation. First there will be a stability union, then political union.
States will give power to unelected Eurocrats. The “European project” has always been about power – not about peace.
The future EU superstate will socialist – a reincarnation of the old Soviet Union.
Mr Hollande stands for democracy and is against powers of finance and German-led eurozone. He has pledged to renegotiate the European fiscal treaty. He is for growth and employment.
Timothy Garton Ash wrote in the Guardian that stability of the eurozone is no substitute for the LARGER PROJECT.
But the problem with this larger project is that it is anti-democratic. It is also against capitalism and personal freedom.
The German austerity recipe is destroying Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Italy´s collapse will cause big problems in Europe.
As George Soros has said, without growth strategy Europe will fall into a deflationary debt spiral. Deficits will increase.
IMF is predicting 0.5% contraction of the eurozone economy in 2012. This will cause havoc to debt dynamics as tax revenues fall.
The euro has serious design faults. The only solution is a break-up of eurozone or the United States of Europe with money transfer powers.
In the case of federation we can say goodbye to national democracies.
Don’t you think politicians from other countries should keep their opinions to themselves when it comes to elections?
With the situation in France she could well make things worse for Sarkozy and then what sort of relationship would she have with the winner if it wasn’t him?
The French are famed for their generally socialist, left of centre political consensus. The Germans, er, less so.
I’m no expert in history but in between mucking about at the back of the class cracking wise-cracks and generally trying to outwit my teachers I learnt enough to realise that socialists aren’t big fans of being told what to do by ‘not’ socialists.
Maybe this is a case of a Merkozy deal along the lines of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch your front.” Not a pleasant image. Maybe let’s not even go there, eh kids..?
“Not to mention Putin when we thought he was a good guy” Tempted to jump all over this one, but I suppose kudos at least to AC for admitting this. Putin from a social democrat perspective though?
13% flat tax?
Has anyone been watching the 4 part “Putin, Russia and the West” on bbc2 9pm thursdays? Brilliant stuff. Showing George Bush when he thought Putin was a good guy too, looked into his eyes and saw his soul and all that. Then John McCain said “I looked into his eyes and saw a K, a G and a B.”
Brilliant post Olli. Pity Alastair and Tony didn’t have you as an advisor back in the day. In fairness I think Alastair has said he is less of a an EU-phile than Tony.
Were it not for the EU, I think Tony Blair would have been rated as a great prime minister.
They are not accomplishing much but they are in charge in most places, in terms of the moderate/centre right that is.
Though of course that balance will shift if Sarkozy follows Berlusconi out the door.
Easily forgotten Reaguns but lest it slipped your memory just a reminder, Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is perfectly normal that parties belonging to the same political family help each other, but then: who cared about it in the past? Tony Blairs and Gerhard Schröders paper of 1999 about the “Third Way” had no real impact in Germany, nor did it alienate the German conservative party, then in opposition, against Labour. Hence, the reason of Chancellor Merkel’s support is probably not driven by tactical thoughts but by deep conviction. As David Marsh points out in today’s “Handelsblatt” (German equivalent of the FT) , the German government is worried about history repeating itself. 31 years ago french president Giscard D’Estaing was replaced by Francois Mitterand, who had very similar economic convictions as M. Hollande. The latter’s economic agenda is in stark contrast with what the German government thinks is necessary to save the Euro, e.g. the idea to a more aggressive fiscal support role of the ECB. Tensions between France and Germany will increase if M. Hollande wins the election, and that’s probably the reason why Angela Merkel takes this step.
It’s up to Greece to show they can perform proper audits, they had not done that up to the point of joining the Euro.
They had been indulged by better-organised countries that wanted a united Europe so much they were over-indulgent.
Once Greece’s govt’s accountants and auditors have learned to do the books properly and not hide debt I am sure they will be treated like adults again. This is not anything like a takeover.
Your country is in the Euro, its accounts would have been bang-on correct when the it was being set up; your country has natural assets and has always been able to plan its long-term schedules much better than southern European.
She’s making it plain she does not want any relationship with French Nazis.
Is that plain enough for you?
Mouth in gear before brain again heh….read the headline, you’ll see it mentions Hollande the Socialist candidate. Yet she’s seeing Sarkozy to prove she wants nothing to do with Nazis according to you! Insightful……
Ooooo what a bitch she thinks she is; ‘er up there.
Did anyone really think anyone would need Clegg’s help?
Is it possible that fans of Le Pen will see her in govt post-election if there’s no clear winner as here?
Wake up.
I have never fully made my mind up about Iraq. I would like to know more from an intelligence and geopolitical perspective.
Seems to me they could have taken out Saddam without occupying the country.
All I am certain of, is that 9/11 gave America carte blanche to pursue Al Qaeda and its allies, anywhere in the world.
The chicken and egg, cause and effect analysis gets more difficult after that – Peter Oborne wrote a brilliant article last year (will try and find it for you) explaining the long-standing hatred of America throughout the Arab world. I don’t think it justifies 9/11 though.
I am of course against Guantanamo, waterboarding, Abu Ghraib, “collateral damage”.
Whats your thoughts on Iran?
9/11 justified lots of things but it did not justify the invasion of Iraq in my opinion.
Iran is a different kettle of fish altogether as it also involves Israel. The US will always support Israel, sometimes justifiably sometimes not. The Iranians would be really stupid to threaten Israel with any sort of attack as Israel has who knows how many nuclear weapons. Nobody wants it get to that point but as Gillie has said maybe the US is preparing an ‘excuse’.
It appears that we’re in an age of Islamic fundamentalism which possibly started when the Shah was kicked out of Iran. The genii is out of the bottle and the question is how do we protect ourselves against some rather nasty people?
Perhaps if all the facts were discussed on all occasions and not just some of them?
The attack on PanAm was ‘response’ by opportunist third parties (planned in Libya???) for the ‘mistaken’ attack by a US naval captain on a civilian plane full of civilian passengers flying over Iranian land a few months earlier.
There was no ‘Lockerbie attack’ as we so often hear and read, that was awful coincidence as the attack on PanAm was timed for mid-Atlantic.
Which nasty people are you referring to?
All or just some?
Well, technically the optimum time from a CIA perspective was when the Soviets were fighting in Afghanistan and Iran was fighting Iraq. I still think more time is needed to know the geopolitics of all this, but I don’t think the US fighting those 3 instead was ever part of any grand plan.
As for Iran, Israel and nukes, I think one interesting perspecive is found here where one of the better right wingers (Netanyahu) talks to one of the better left wingers (Bill Maher):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN3K1Wsd-I0
Personally I’d love to see the back of both Merkle and her poodle Sarkozy. Dictators the pair of them.
Iran does seem to be scaring some people shitless at the moment, enriched uranium and all that quack scientist stuff. The Big Bang Theory from telly it certainly isn’t.
“Putin when we thought he was a good guy”; let’s add that one to “Bush when we thought he was right” or “Gordon when we thought he knew what he was doing”
Perhaps it’s time to quietly fade away Mr Campbell.
The coalesced mess allowed an undeserved majority of 100+ MPs.
You have all the charm of someone throwing up after eating all the pies.
Rather than being objectionable to everyone who dares to disagree with you why don’t you try avoiding the bile? Stick to the facts:Like the fact that more people voted for the Tories and the LibDems than voted for Labour. The fact that these 2 parties then joined a coalition that will last until 2015, like it or not. The fact that GB your clown prince would have created a coalition with the LibDems at the drop of a hat. The fact that the electorate rejected the Labour party at the last election. The fact that yet again a Labour Chancellor has managed to ruin the economy…the list is long…
Yes, more people voted for the Tories than they did for Labour but they did NOT give them a majority.
Clegg would have joined forces with Labour if Labour had dumped Brown AND (possibly more importantly to him) equalled the Cabinet roles and salary doublings/triplings that Cameron had offered already.
Clegg could have made the coalition that would have FAR more fairly represented the country’s decision.
ie: As I doubt you’ll bother checking, it would have been:
Coalition of 315
Conservatives = 306
Others = 29
There would doubtless have needed to be another election before 2015; we would not have the grossly unfair (and NOT given by the country) majority that the mess has.
The fact that LibDem voters were doing so to keep the Tories out and get rid of tuition fees. Normal support now is 9%; would have been in May 2010 if they hadn’t lied to the public.
“I’ve got my hands full with another frother.SignedNurse Ratchet ”
Boundless charm. What a debater.
Are you against coalition? Or coalition in which Labour is not involved?
‘……9/11 gave America carte blanche……’
How very convenient for the US that 9/11 happened when it did!
I know it is Libdem’s thoughts you are asking for on Iran – but here’s mine anyway. Warships are currently gathering in the Persian Gulf. Amongst them is a very old warship that’s well past it’s usefulness!
The USS Enterprise, a ‘sacrificial lamb’ perhaps? It probably won’t happen now though because this cunning ‘false flag’ plan has been outed all over the web. But we shall wait and see. They would more than likely be fully prepared to sacrifice one of their newer ships if it gives them the reason (excuse) to attack Iran.
One final thought, it seems as if Armadinnerjacket (sorry I don’t know how to spell his name properly) may not be who or what we have been led to believe he is.
‘The future EU superstate will be socialist – a reincarnation of the old Soviet Union….But the problem with this larger project is that it is anti-democratic. It is also against capitalism and personal freedom.’
I’ve picked out the two statements above as classics of woolly thinking. First – are you seriously suggesting that the EU is going to be like a reincarnation of the former Soviet Union, a police state that is the exact diametrical opposite of what was meant by socialism by people like Marx and Engels, let alone William Morris and the rest? I think you ought to be more precise about what you mean by ‘socialism’. There’s always been more to it than bureaucratic state control of the economy.
Second, why do you conflate ‘anti-democratic’, ‘capitalism’ and ‘personal freedom’? There’s more than an implication that democracy and personal freedom are somehow bound up with capitalism. In fact democracy has developed in spite of capitalism – capitalism has operated under all sorts of nasty regimes and never complained – and when you’re talking about any kind of freedom, please pin it down: freedom of who from what to do what? Margaret Thatcher was always on about freedom, but it didn’t apply to the freedom of trade unionists to withdraw labour when negotiations with employers were leading nowhere.
Always said a socialist capitalist society is the way to go, but when I mentioned that to that Cambridge educated bloke in a London party in 1985, he looked at me aghast. How who should look aghast now butty? Free market capitalism? don’t make me laugh will you.
Never mind France and Germany and their strange, ummm, relationship divided by the Rhine, how about some Poland and Wales? Great clip here just posted on WRU site, rugger and things,
http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/matchdaytv/Index/index/id/10670
Dave, most of us recognise that Marx didn’t advocate a state like the USSR, and that the EU don’t necessarily want to be like that.
But they do all believe in central planning and coercion, and that always moves us in that direction, away from democracy.
Capitalism is tied to freedom and democracy because instead of taking our money and then deciding what to buy with it, it lets us keep our money and make our own decisions what to buy with it – this is inherently more democratic. Instead of a bureaucrat deciding what films get made and I get to see, I decide.
As for Thatcher, I’m not a fan I think industry got a raw deal compared to services under her, but trade unions had the right to strike as long as they voted for it democratically, is that not correct?
Which state, if not the USSR, do you think has got closest to achieving the ideals of Marxism as Marx intended it?
By the way I’m not dogmatic – I’ve long advocated taxing everybody more and making pubs free at the point of use!
Always happy to hear your thoughts too Gilliebc.
So you think the US was going to set up a decoy ship, blow it up and blame Iran so they can start a war? I have heard people mention the saudi ambassador assassination attempts in the same terms.
I don’t think so. I think the fact that they are enriching uranium beyond domestic use and have pledged to destroy Israel, and according to their “Twelver” religion may well mean it, will be enough to start the war.
I also do not believe the 9/11 conspiracies, just too difficult to pull off and keep secret – especially under Bush! The amount of competent and unpatriotic people needed would make it nigh impossible I feel.
But hey, what do I know.
Like the new name “armoureddinnerjacket”!
Ha Ehtch, they should definitely make an episode where the big bang theory guys do that.
What a nasty last sentence but it’s funny to see your tagalongs doing their usual LOL
Sarkozy sounds versatile in The World According to Carmel.
A poodle AND a dictator, quite a feat.
There was no need for what we might laughingly refer to as a ‘coalition’.
The quantities meant that running a minority govt was the honourable route.
Clegg pulled a blinder this weekend re Stephen Hester, it’s the first decent and non-capitulating / brave move he’s made since May ’10.
This: ……
” Collapse
On the basis of “my enemies ‘enema’ is my friend” presumably the
two Eds will be campaigning for Sarky. They cannot be less effective in
France than over here.” …….
was an example of debate?
Ah no, there were never any WMDs were there, it was something else that Chemical Ali used to gas all those people found in miles of burial pits.
I’m sure you know what else.
Ha … pots and kettles Richard.
I’m not aware of any state that has so far got close to achieving the ideals of Marxism as Marx intended. The ideal was of course the withering away of the state, not its bureaucratic strengthening. The ludicrous succession situation in North Korea recently was a classic example of everything early socialists would have opposed – I don’t think Monty Python could have improved on it!
Under Margaret Thacher trade unions were hedged with restriction after restriction on their ability to withdraw labour. She didn’t go as far as Pitt the Younger and his Combinaton Acts, but she would have if she could have. In this she was completely at odds with her supposed guru of the free market, Adam Smith.
Capitalism works overtime to find subtle ways of influencing consumer choice – Vance Packard wrote a series of books on this in the 1960s – The Hidden Persuaders, The Waste Makers, etc.. Never was it all truer than now. Consumer democracy was and is a fraud.
I know we have got to go into battle with our irish friends this weekend, with you english hopefully getting mugged by our scots friends, but our eye is always on you english, for some strange reason, but take it in the right way, and don’t come over all poncy with this my english friends, coming over all drama queens again,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9uMJovuA_Y
German yodeller? A must watch – Franzl Lange is a genius, from the Alps just on the german side, ok, maybe near that bearwulf something or other hq, but maybe not, Franzl,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67rc96joOz8
Danke Franzl, you gargled with the best there.
What conspiracy theory is this then with a battleship that’s easily written off but is presumably full of sevice people?
Thatcher kept on spouting on like a stuck record about free market economics that we should follow in our country. But that is all and fair and well, but the rest of the World wasn’t following it, what with subsidised industries in Germany and France, and tennis balls being made by workers in Taiwan on pennies per hour. Thatcher was a stupid friutcake, as the fruitcakes her dad used to sell from his corner shop in Lincolnshire somewhere, as long as you had enough ration stamps. She turned my guts, Thatcher did, couldn’t see further than her long pointed nose. A really really over-educated right stupid bitch.
There, I feel better now, it had to be said. And also, she wasn’t good enough to even wipe my wonderful mother’s shitty arse, or words to that effect, in case anyone was thinking pathetically I was being anti-woman and all that.
Again, channel five at the moment, Gabby Logan on it. Spoken to Gabby several times few years back, on a rugby site I think it was that is defunct now. Nice lady, got the blonde celt look of me, as her welsh dad, Terry Yorath, so we are from the same tribe, which I got her into stitches with. As I said, Gabby Logan is a brilliant person, I can tell these things, usually.
The lady in this introduction! Know dozens of ladies in Wales that look like her.Told you us welsh are mainly from the alps, and have surprising kept the same look, us blonde ones of course I mean. A female friend who is a hairdresser has exactly the same look as her, smile, slight cheekbones and same humour, that humour to say I love you whoever you are when laughing. Hope I have painted the picture of what I mean.
Just one point – if other countries want to subsidise industries, that means we can buy the products of those countries cheaper, at their taxpayers expense. Subsidy hurts the country who does the subsidising, if they are stupid enough to pay for us to have cheap goods, let them.
Alright, as I said I don’t agree with those who take the simplistic view “The USSR failed therefore socialism doesn’t work.” But I could never conceivably support Marxism unless a small state or country experimented with Marxism and did well. Till then I’ll always vote for the systems that produce best results, be it Switzerland, Denmark etc.
What restrictions did Thatcher put on them apart from insisting on democratic ballots? I thought when Scargill opposed democratic ballot he lost the argument and made himself look like an authoritarian KGB plant or at least a ‘useful idiot’.
Was it the restrictions to do with, whats its name, secondary picketing?
Restrictions against freedom would seem to go against the thoughts of Adam Smith – is that what you mean? Whats your opinion of Adam Smith? Amazingly, Gordon Brown claims to be a fan!
Too obtuse, what do you mean?
How can there not be a ‘clear winner’? It’s multiple rounds and surprise surprise, it ends up with a winner, yes an individual who becomes President!
Keep up.
Wake up woman, neither Tories nor Labour has had a majority of the electorate vote for them for goodness how long. The election system allows ‘minority’ governments. If it wasn’t for Scotland, Labour would never get into power, how democratic is that. The whole system is a mess designed for a 2 party system. Until a third one comes along and upsets the cosy applecart.
You call this a mess, but it has the majority of voters represented, a situation Labour never had.
And believe it or not but the thoughts of Chairman M(ao)ichele do not represent the country.
Am I to presume that you understand the voting intentions of all the Lib Dem voters Janete? Or is this some insight that the rest of us hasn’t been appraised of or is it your bigoted view?
Yes, but buy those subsidised products with what? Got to be making honest money on the same platforms as those countries first, to pay for them. To follow free-market whatevers when no one else is in the rest of the World is dull stupid and foolish.
Remember talking to a doctor in Brisbane on the Lions tourin 2001 about how dna genetic archaeology will become a big interesting thing, but I made sure to point to her out that it’s application solely for historical reasons, and certainly not for Swedish/Third race type future reasons, eugenics, which seriously disturbed people in the twentieth century. It just is interesting in finding out on people’s movemenst through time, explaining deep engrained psychological characteristics that peoples have, that makes us all different. And by the way, I am a great believer in mixed-marriages, it produces stunning children, but there is a chance I might to taking the arguement to the other direction, and cause trouble elsewhere instead, in some of us being called a hayseed and such.
We’ll have to agree to disagree Ehtch. If you follow free market economics when noone else does, thats the best time – you will leave them behind, thats what the US did back in the day. You are right to say we need to sell something as well though to pay for those imports, but the subsidised imports can actually help with that.
Do us all a favour, nip over and correct Wiki ….. which states
” ….. In semi-presidential systems such as France, where the president formally appoints a prime minister but the government itself must still maintain the confidence of parliament, coalition governments occur quite regularly……..”
Re-read your own post, the post that mine is marked as being in response to and realise the insinuation unreasonable you make in its last sentence.
You are after all claiming certain credentials with yur dogtag.
Stop guessing:
http://www.ukpolitical.info/General_election_polls.htm
Tsk, you’ll make me cwy.
Wake up yourself.
If you now want to NOT talk seats and DO want to talk raw votes, look up the bloody figures.
It’s easy enough; Labour and Others achieved very nearly 50% of VOTES and do try not to be dismissive of Scottish voters please.
Whichever way you look at it, Clegg gave a CRIMINAL exploitative and exploited advantage to Cameron.
Take a look at the voting records of Lib Dems, that’s also easy enough to find, ready collated.
Drop a line to
Anne-Elisabeth Moutet :
You might also
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7726253/The-French-know-that-theres-nothing-romantic-about-a-coalition-government.html
reaguns – suppose the arguement I am trying to put forward here is who comes first, people or money? Somewhere in the middle is where it should be, but biased towards people, I think. Too much the other way is self-defeating as well.
Money and capitalism should exist to serve people, not vice versa – we can agree on that I think.
You’re saying it’s possible to have a coalition of one!
and what about the people who didn’t vote. GB never elected as PM gave a criminal performance as Chancellor and PM and look at the results.
Take your fingers out of your ears…..
Sarah Brown is the leading ladyFrom the Labour wreckage, one character steps unsullied. Sarah Brown, for whom no commentator had an unkind word. How could Labour’s second most visible spin doctor escape criticism? You’d have thought her First Ladies Hollywood gig last year, alongside the big-haired wives of such luminaries of democracy as Presidents José Eduardo Dos Santos of (oil-rich, human rights-poor) Angola or Paul Biya of Cameroon, not to mention Paris Hilton (“I loved Paris, she’s so smart!” Sarah gushed) might have dented her perfect image. Not a bit. I look forward to reports of Sarah’s speaking engagements and fees in the coming months.Says it all about you lot!
Are you saying the new Pres won’t be forming a cabinet?
Ye gods.
Presumably the people that didn’t vote were not bothered who got in.
FGS will you be asking me next about those not yet born or those that have died since?
People that don’t want to be counted don’t want to be counted, s’easy.
No comment about the link a few caches away showing MASSIVE decline in LibDem voting intentions as they are now?
Thre’s the whiff of someone that used to post under a different tag.
Opinions formed from prejudice are meaningless compared to those of respected economists. Try a bite, even if it’s only of page i
http://cep.lse.ac.uk/conference_papers/15b_11_2011/CEP_Report_UK_Business_15112011.pdf
what has this got to do with Merkel poking her nose in?
off tack againheh…
You should be more worried aboutEd…
To avoid the one letter to a line and re the facetious crap abutting this, read pg i and then comment, dare you.ent c
I think you need a lie down. JFDI fgs.
Re the oblivion k/a Libdem and in refusal of becoming split-worded to respond:
” ………………………… Collapse
what has this got to do with Merkel poking her nose in?
That question has already been answered.
Try to stop smartrrrrrrsing.
We don’t like each other but try just to comprehend that France has seen what has happened here, and none of the EU need France to move in to a mess like ours.
France has had a few coalitions in the past (despite your claim or assumption that a President can avoid one).
France needs not to become as fractured and mis-managed as we currently are and the EU shares that need.
I daresay Mrs Merkel is acting like an efficient German (in hopes of not sounding chauvinistic).
Please don’t point out that my opinion is in conflict with the blog title, it’s called a convo.
You’ve shown you understand that it’s possible to get away with blue murder, your lie (or ignorance? Fess up time) with your :
” …….. neither Tories nor Labour has had a majority of the electorate vote for them for goodness how long……”
seems to have overlooked just the penultimate election here in the UK dear; TB gained more than everyone else put together.
Your ‘goodness knows how long’ shows your interest in detail.
Elsewhere I have put a link to an objective assessment from the LSE about OUR economy between 1997 and 2010 and you still opine that it was crap.
You have challenged Janiet’s post about only 9% of the electorate now thinking of LibDem next time they have a chance; I have posted a link to a survey, You have ignored it, the libdem voting intentions surveys are going down sharper than a hypotenuse.
Everyone else with the nouse to ignore you has it right on.