When asked to make a tough decision between two alternatives, the politician denies the existence of alternatives. He or she insists that both alternatives can live together. Not only that, but 1 + 1 can make 3. If I may, I’d like to illustrate the nonsense of that, with the use of contemporary examples.
Wolfgang Schäuble wants Greek survival with no debt forgiveness. Or put another way, heartless Greek austerity with no write-offs for the German taxpayer. It simply is not possible.
David Cameron wants to stay in the EU without accepting EU policies to which he is implacably opposed. Or put another way, British independence as a dependent part of a Superstate. It simply is not possible.
Barack Obama wants to stop the proliferation of radical Islam while backing the Muslim Brotherhood and supporting Israel. It simply isn’t possible.
George Osborne wants to cut the UK deficit while ignoring the Whitehall elephant round his neck. It simply isn’t possible.
Francois Hollande wants to keep his election promises while ignoring France’s exposure to toxic Greek debt. It simply isn’t possible.
A famous commentator (I forget who) once said, “Politics is the art of the possible”. In 2012, politics has morphed into the promise of the impossible.
It is infantile to want what can’t be had. It becomes more apparent with every day that our commercial, financial, media and political leaders are not worthy of long trousers.
Sometimes, even 64 year old blokes like me imagine they can have the wisdom of age and the attractive energy of youth. We can’t. It makes us sad, but we accept it. It’s the inability to be either sad or realistic that makes our leaders dangerous.
The Slog 