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Go on, Theresa, surprise us with your Desert Island Discs Go on, Theresa, surprise us with your Desert Island Discs
(about 2 hours later)
Politics must deal with the world as it is. Music imagines the world as it might be. Unlike some of their more intellectually self-confident continental counterparts, pragmatically inclined British politicians are naturally more at home with the former than the latter.Politics must deal with the world as it is. Music imagines the world as it might be. Unlike some of their more intellectually self-confident continental counterparts, pragmatically inclined British politicians are naturally more at home with the former than the latter.
Ever sensitive to the brutality and philistinism of the British press, it is also little surprise that most British politicians view an invitation to appear on Desert Island Discs as an irresistible honour but also as something of a minefield.Ever sensitive to the brutality and philistinism of the British press, it is also little surprise that most British politicians view an invitation to appear on Desert Island Discs as an irresistible honour but also as something of a minefield.
This explains the always understandable political instinct to play safe on the airwaves, which is so powerfully revealed in politicians’ desert island choices. If you go for the Enigma Variations or Beethoven’s Ninth symphony, the most popular choices of the political class, no one could say they are poor selections. The worst that your public and the press will say is that your choices are a bit predictable – and most politicians can live with that.This explains the always understandable political instinct to play safe on the airwaves, which is so powerfully revealed in politicians’ desert island choices. If you go for the Enigma Variations or Beethoven’s Ninth symphony, the most popular choices of the political class, no one could say they are poor selections. The worst that your public and the press will say is that your choices are a bit predictable – and most politicians can live with that.
Nevertheless, different political traditions tend to inhabit different musical worlds. So it’s no surprise that Tory politicians often feel more comfortable with opera and classical music, while Labour politicians like to draw on songs of protest. Labour politicians are generally much more likely to choose pop music than Tories. Part of this is political calculation. But a lot of it is cultural comfort zone too.Nevertheless, different political traditions tend to inhabit different musical worlds. So it’s no surprise that Tory politicians often feel more comfortable with opera and classical music, while Labour politicians like to draw on songs of protest. Labour politicians are generally much more likely to choose pop music than Tories. Part of this is political calculation. But a lot of it is cultural comfort zone too.
All of this makes the free spirited and genuinely self-confident politician on Desert Island Discs both a rarity and a delight. Enoch Powell may have been one of the more baleful political influences of the postwar era, but he loved his Beethoven and his Wagner, who together accounted for seven of Powell’s eight discs (the eighth was by Haydn) when he appeared in 1989; no cheap nationalist rubbish for him.All of this makes the free spirited and genuinely self-confident politician on Desert Island Discs both a rarity and a delight. Enoch Powell may have been one of the more baleful political influences of the postwar era, but he loved his Beethoven and his Wagner, who together accounted for seven of Powell’s eight discs (the eighth was by Haydn) when he appeared in 1989; no cheap nationalist rubbish for him.
Tony Blair may have a reputation as the arch-triangulator who always said what the pollsters advised, but when he went on in 1996 he made no effort to woo the voters. Instead he chose an idiosyncratic and eclectic bunch of records, mostly from the rock music of his younger days. As with Powell, but in a very different way, the choice of records showed him comfortable in his own skin. Other politicians whose appearances have echoed that approach have included Kenneth Clarke and Alan Johnson.Tony Blair may have a reputation as the arch-triangulator who always said what the pollsters advised, but when he went on in 1996 he made no effort to woo the voters. Instead he chose an idiosyncratic and eclectic bunch of records, mostly from the rock music of his younger days. As with Powell, but in a very different way, the choice of records showed him comfortable in his own skin. Other politicians whose appearances have echoed that approach have included Kenneth Clarke and Alan Johnson.
Is the home secretary an opera-lover or a rocker? Is she comfortable in her skin or is she a triangulator? I have no idea. But I’ll be listening. Go on, Theresa, surprise us. Will the home secretary turn out to be an opera-lover or a rocker? Is she comfortable in her skin or is she a triangulator? I have no idea. But I’ll be listening. Go on, Theresa, surprise us.