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The Subtext of Class

it’s been fascinating to watch the british electoral system slide ever closer to toward a hung parliament and after reading this analysis of their recent debates gives an interesting insight into how the subtext of class still plays into politics in britain.

“David Cameron did better in yesterday’s debate compared to last week. But he still can’t break through. What’s the poor chap doing wrong?

First, the obvious point. He’s involved in a Big Lie: covering up what the nasty wing of his party would do to Britain should the Tories to win power.

To Cameron’s credit, he’s not very good at it. Talk to any trial lawyer and they’ll tell you lying’s hard. You can usually spot a liar in the witness stand at twenty paces.

Lairs must be clever, fast on their feet, have a brass neck, and a good memory. Why a good memory? Because liars must remember the lies they’ve told and not contradict themselves later on. Truth-tellers – most normal people – don’t have that problem. They just do their best to tell the truth. Liars, conversely, must constantly look over their shoulders. They need to be tough and clever to carry it off.

Cameron’s not in that league (Peter Mandelson probably is). Cameron has an okay brain - silver spoon, good breeding stock, excellent schooling – but he’s no genius. He’d make a fine marketing man or top-end Chelsea estate agent. But he’s no Einstein. Ergo he looks uncomfortable when telling lies. People pick up on it, especially now with politicians hated so fiercely.”

via tankthetories.com

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at 11:25 am. It is filed under blog and tagged with class, Conservatives, Hung parliament, politics, subtext. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.