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Some brother David Miliband is Some brother David Miliband is
(6 months later)
Will David Miliband ever be back in frontline politics? Lord Mandelson and others say he will. The rest of us should probably hope not. It strikes me that he has never demonstrated the danger of his political aspirations more clearly than in the abandoning of them.Will David Miliband ever be back in frontline politics? Lord Mandelson and others say he will. The rest of us should probably hope not. It strikes me that he has never demonstrated the danger of his political aspirations more clearly than in the abandoning of them.
Having been unable to overcome the resentment that followed a leadership battle with his brother, Miliband Senior is off to do charity work in America.Having been unable to overcome the resentment that followed a leadership battle with his brother, Miliband Senior is off to do charity work in America.
Our country must never be led by a man who would fail to build bridges with his own brother. (You might say the same applies to Ed Miliband, but, having won, he obviously isn't the one who remains bitter.)Our country must never be led by a man who would fail to build bridges with his own brother. (You might say the same applies to Ed Miliband, but, having won, he obviously isn't the one who remains bitter.)
The feud jars with too many principles of our national character. "Blood is thicker than water", that's what we say. Deep down, family is all we really care about. We bicker and recover, argue and forgive. When the chips are down, we know whose side we're on. We might be furious with a sibling, parent or child – but if that person is criticised or attacked by an outsider, the attacker has us to deal with.The feud jars with too many principles of our national character. "Blood is thicker than water", that's what we say. Deep down, family is all we really care about. We bicker and recover, argue and forgive. When the chips are down, we know whose side we're on. We might be furious with a sibling, parent or child – but if that person is criticised or attacked by an outsider, the attacker has us to deal with.
Imagine how often those attacks and criticisms come, if your brother is leading a political party! And where is David? In the Club Class cabin to New York.Imagine how often those attacks and criticisms come, if your brother is leading a political party! And where is David? In the Club Class cabin to New York.
Neither does it work, if you aspire to lead the British in world affairs, to cope so badly with loss. Tut tut, that's not the idea at all. Not what Kipling said. In the poem that we always vote to be our national favourite, we are reminded to "meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same"; to "watch the things you gave your life to, broken, and stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools".Neither does it work, if you aspire to lead the British in world affairs, to cope so badly with loss. Tut tut, that's not the idea at all. Not what Kipling said. In the poem that we always vote to be our national favourite, we are reminded to "meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same"; to "watch the things you gave your life to, broken, and stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools".
There's nothing there about running off to a £300,000 job abroad.There's nothing there about running off to a £300,000 job abroad.
David Miliband says the move is "right not just for me but for the Labour party as well", asking rhetorically: "Has it been hard for me to accept I can best help the Labour party by giving not just the space between the frontbench and the backbench to Ed but the space between the frontbench and 3,000 miles away? Yes, that's hard for me but I think that is right."David Miliband says the move is "right not just for me but for the Labour party as well", asking rhetorically: "Has it been hard for me to accept I can best help the Labour party by giving not just the space between the frontbench and the backbench to Ed but the space between the frontbench and 3,000 miles away? Yes, that's hard for me but I think that is right."
We are so used to the waffly constructions and double negatives of political language, it's worth re-reading those lines a few times to grasp how awful they really are.We are so used to the waffly constructions and double negatives of political language, it's worth re-reading those lines a few times to grasp how awful they really are.
In being unable to forgive his brother, after nearly three years, Miliband asks for both our pity and our applause. He wants us to see this exile as the hard, noble, gallant decision of a brave and selfless hero.In being unable to forgive his brother, after nearly three years, Miliband asks for both our pity and our applause. He wants us to see this exile as the hard, noble, gallant decision of a brave and selfless hero.
But we can see how easy it would be to throw his weight behind his brother and the past behind them both. All it would take is one fully supportive speech, a swallow of pride and a pat on the back, and they could be a powerful symbol of unity to inspire us all. Yet he wants not just to skip town but to be admired for doing it.But we can see how easy it would be to throw his weight behind his brother and the past behind them both. All it would take is one fully supportive speech, a swallow of pride and a pat on the back, and they could be a powerful symbol of unity to inspire us all. Yet he wants not just to skip town but to be admired for doing it.
This reminds me of nothing so much as Tony Blair, who not only refuses to admit that the Iraq war was a ghastly and terrible error but still wants to be revered for the "morality" behind it. We must break free from these men who see their own failings as glories. They are the keenest to seek power over the rest of us, but that way lies the end of the world.This reminds me of nothing so much as Tony Blair, who not only refuses to admit that the Iraq war was a ghastly and terrible error but still wants to be revered for the "morality" behind it. We must break free from these men who see their own failings as glories. They are the keenest to seek power over the rest of us, but that way lies the end of the world.
Go, then, David Miliband. Turn your back on the brother you can't forgive and leave him to it alone. I do believe it has been hard, and I hope the charity gig goes well. But you must not come back and try to rule over me and my family, while you don't even know that charity begins at home.Go, then, David Miliband. Turn your back on the brother you can't forgive and leave him to it alone. I do believe it has been hard, and I hope the charity gig goes well. But you must not come back and try to rule over me and my family, while you don't even know that charity begins at home.
Critic critiqued
Critic critiqued
The other night, at the theatre, I watched two simultaneous plays.The other night, at the theatre, I watched two simultaneous plays.
This was not an avant-garde fringe production (although "two simultaneous plays" sounds exactly like the sort of terrible idea with which a group of hopeful drama students might bankrupt themselves at Edinburgh) but a performance-double intended by nobody and witnessed, I think, only by me.This was not an avant-garde fringe production (although "two simultaneous plays" sounds exactly like the sort of terrible idea with which a group of hopeful drama students might bankrupt themselves at Edinburgh) but a performance-double intended by nobody and witnessed, I think, only by me.
The first play was The Book of Mormon, which I enjoyed enormously. The second, unfolding simultaneously across the aisle, was a darker and more complex piece of work entitled Quentin Letts Watching The Book of Mormon.The first play was The Book of Mormon, which I enjoyed enormously. The second, unfolding simultaneously across the aisle, was a darker and more complex piece of work entitled Quentin Letts Watching The Book of Mormon.
Both plays were on a fish-out-of-water theme. In The Book of Mormon, a bespectacled missionary is surrounded by sceptical Ugandans whose problems he can't solve. In Quentin Letts Watching The Book of Mormon, a bespectacled theatre critic is surrounded by laughing people whose amusement he can't understand.Both plays were on a fish-out-of-water theme. In The Book of Mormon, a bespectacled missionary is surrounded by sceptical Ugandans whose problems he can't solve. In Quentin Letts Watching The Book of Mormon, a bespectacled theatre critic is surrounded by laughing people whose amusement he can't understand.
One of the plays ended happily, with a merry musical finale. The other ended with an angry review in the Daily Mail that talked of "cynical profanity".One of the plays ended happily, with a merry musical finale. The other ended with an angry review in the Daily Mail that talked of "cynical profanity".
Letts clearly never expected to like it; even as he took his seat, he looked like a man who'd just run over his own dog. Every time I laughed or clapped with the rest of the audience, I could see him in my peripheral vision, making another gloomy note on his pad.Letts clearly never expected to like it; even as he took his seat, he looked like a man who'd just run over his own dog. Every time I laughed or clapped with the rest of the audience, I could see him in my peripheral vision, making another gloomy note on his pad.
What I loved most about TBOM is that it is – radically, in modern comedy – kind and friendly about religious faith. Sure, it's a toothy satire of specific beliefs, but it shows belief in general as a warm and hopeful instinct that can make people happier.What I loved most about TBOM is that it is – radically, in modern comedy – kind and friendly about religious faith. Sure, it's a toothy satire of specific beliefs, but it shows belief in general as a warm and hopeful instinct that can make people happier.
Perhaps it just chimed with my own view of the human search for God (a good and natural principle, resulting in some inevitably clumsy guesswork over the specifics), but I saw an amazing irony in Mr Letts expecting a rant against religion and thus seeing one. It was the play, not he, that had an open mind and heart. He had no faith. Happy Easter.Perhaps it just chimed with my own view of the human search for God (a good and natural principle, resulting in some inevitably clumsy guesswork over the specifics), but I saw an amazing irony in Mr Letts expecting a rant against religion and thus seeing one. It was the play, not he, that had an open mind and heart. He had no faith. Happy Easter.
www.victoriacoren.comwww.victoriacoren.com
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