Batchelor & Constable Simon Constable and I speak with puzzlement of the apparent fact that the all-powerful Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the UK does not enjoy respect in Europe or in his home country. The poor English pound is a victim. We also note that the young Daniel Hannan has gained worldwide celebrity from his brief, self-posted video challenging Gordon Brown's policies and performance.
The Zeitgeist is trending towards anarchy. Gordon Brown finds himself in the unfortunate position of being Prime Minister at a time when respect for authority in general is eroding. Anarchists from all over Europe are converging on London for the G20 summit. They hope to disrupt and vandalize the city. All police leaves have been canceled to deal with the expected onslaught. Chris Knight, a professor of anthropology at the University of East London, was suspended from his job yesterday after he told the BBC, “we’re going to be hanging a lot of people from lampposts (on April 1) and I can only say let’s hope they are just effigies.” After London, protesters plan to head for Strasbourg, France, to sow their poison at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization conference. “It’s the beginning of the (party) season,” Mark Barrett, a protest organizer, told Thomas Penny and Brian Lysaght of Bloomberg.com.
We criticize Brown for his policies. Opposition parties criticize him for his party affiliation. Everyone criticizes him for being a just man when a savior is what is needed. The press is having a field day (as they had with Bush). In a deranged kind of way, we may have bought ourselves some time by electing Obama. Can you imagine the havoc that would spawn if McCain were in office?