Professor Kevin Dowd puts forward what seems like an excellent plan, in a speech to the Libertarian Alliance (larger wing), for sorting out British banks involved in the current financial crisis. (This was the second Chris R. Tame Memorial Lecture.)
=> Link to online text
Video below, with an introduction by Dr Tim Evans. The speech starts at approximately 7:15 minutes:
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Labour MPs to Oust PM
Sky News breaking story on plot by back bench Labour MPs to oust the Prime Mentalist.
Round up of the day, below:
Round up of the day, below:
Faber: I am 100 percent sure that the U.S. will go into hyperinflation
Doctor Doom lays it on the line.
(It would be interesting to hear what he thinks about the UK.)
UPDATE: Interesting post by Robert Wenzel, relating to Marc Faber's comments on US hyperinflation, on his EconomicPolicyJournal blog. In it he posits that the US is extremely vulnerable because of the dollar's status as the world reserve currency. For decades they have been exporting their inflation, by printing dollars, spending them on foreign goods, and then seeing those dollars being locked up inside the vaults of foreign central banks instead of being repatriated back to the US. But if confidence in the dollar collapses suddenly, even over a weekend, then there will be a rush to repatriate these reserves and spend those dollars back in the US, on all sorts of commodities, durable goods, and land, before the dollar becomes worthless. The US could become hyperinflative within weeks or months, rather than the several years it usually takes. Interesting. Check it out.
=> How Zimbabwe Type Hyperinflation Could Come to America
=> (Second related post) The Big Collapse Could Be Very Near
Hat tip to 'not an economist'
(It would be interesting to hear what he thinks about the UK.)
UPDATE: Interesting post by Robert Wenzel, relating to Marc Faber's comments on US hyperinflation, on his EconomicPolicyJournal blog. In it he posits that the US is extremely vulnerable because of the dollar's status as the world reserve currency. For decades they have been exporting their inflation, by printing dollars, spending them on foreign goods, and then seeing those dollars being locked up inside the vaults of foreign central banks instead of being repatriated back to the US. But if confidence in the dollar collapses suddenly, even over a weekend, then there will be a rush to repatriate these reserves and spend those dollars back in the US, on all sorts of commodities, durable goods, and land, before the dollar becomes worthless. The US could become hyperinflative within weeks or months, rather than the several years it usually takes. Interesting. Check it out.
=> How Zimbabwe Type Hyperinflation Could Come to America
=> (Second related post) The Big Collapse Could Be Very Near
Hat tip to 'not an economist'
Now even the Guardian lays the boot into Brown
Astonishing.When even the tax-eaters' representatives on the Guardian are attacking the tax-eater-in-chief, then you know the end must be nigh.
So when will somebody in the Labour Party stand up with enough red blood in their veins to actually tell this Stalinist monster, to his face, that time's up?
Straw bottled it. Miliband bottled it. Even Blears can't bring herself to do it. Are they all waiting for him to have a stroke, just like Stalin, before they dare tackle the evil controller within their midst?
Just what hypnotic hold does Brown have over the rest of these no-hopers? They can't all be closet homosexuals with embarrassing photographs in his scrap book, can they?
There is one Labour man, however, with the cojones to do it though, someone who has hated Brown for many, many years.
Expect Charles Clarke to be handed the hatchet soon, in a Last Alliance of Men and Elves, to drag this obnoxious Sauron out of the gated Mordor of Downing Street. It won't be pretty and the screams will be heard up and down the land. But for the sake of everyone else in the country, it is now absolutely necessary.
El gol de Tardelli
The full story of that Tardelli goal.
Yes, the voiceover and the subtitles are in some mixture of spanish and italian, which even a cod-latinist struggles with, but I think it gets over the point of what a stunning and important goal this was:
Yes, the voiceover and the subtitles are in some mixture of spanish and italian, which even a cod-latinist struggles with, but I think it gets over the point of what a stunning and important goal this was:
Sense breaks out in Germany
Having suffered the Weimar inflation, the Hitler inflation, and the Post-War inflation, Germans are the Europeans who know best the follies of the printing press.
Linking this to Gordon Brown, my favourite topic de la jour, one of the really annoying things about this most annoying of men, has been his accurate statement that 'all major governments are following the same policies that I instigated'.
Yes, just because everyone's an idiot, doesn't make it okay to be an idiot, but it does make things easier when the dam breaks, and one person stands up to tell everyone else that the Emperor is wearing no clothes.
Hence, my delight this morning when I saw the following story:
=> Germany's Angela Merkel attacks Bank of England's move to pump money into UK economy
Ausgezeichnet, as we cod-German speakers say.
So is the world finally swinging back into Austro-common sense? (Starting mit Deutschland?)
I certainly hope so. In fact, I think it could even be time for that Marco Tardelli moment again, though given the stuff above, it's a shame it involves the old West German football team! :-)
Linking this to Gordon Brown, my favourite topic de la jour, one of the really annoying things about this most annoying of men, has been his accurate statement that 'all major governments are following the same policies that I instigated'.
Yes, just because everyone's an idiot, doesn't make it okay to be an idiot, but it does make things easier when the dam breaks, and one person stands up to tell everyone else that the Emperor is wearing no clothes.
Hence, my delight this morning when I saw the following story:
=> Germany's Angela Merkel attacks Bank of England's move to pump money into UK economy
Ausgezeichnet, as we cod-German speakers say.
So is the world finally swinging back into Austro-common sense? (Starting mit Deutschland?)
I certainly hope so. In fact, I think it could even be time for that Marco Tardelli moment again, though given the stuff above, it's a shame it involves the old West German football team! :-)
They call it Gordon Brown's 'tragedy', but it's been a catastrophe for us
Sir Bufton Heffmeister gives Brown an excellent roasting.
The Bank of England's medicine is not working
Edmund Conway correctly points out that the 'quantitative counterfeiting' program is failing.
He suggests that we are heading into Japanese-style stagflation, one of the three options long predicted by AngloAustria (along with Zimbabwe style hyperinflation, or a complete total economic meltdown caused by very large interest rates).
However, Mr Conway goes on to say two other interesting things:
The BEST option we can hope for, with the current policy, is Japanese stagflation. And that's why Mr Conway's second comment is even more interesting. Because if Bank of England insiders are thinking what he is thinking, that it is 'time to hope and pray the QE programme starts yielding results', then they will only be able to see one course of action, now that quantitative counterfeiting has so obviously failed.
And THAT will be to do a lot more of it. Hence, we are walking ourselves into Zimbabwe, stage by dreadful stage.
Does anyone really think Robert Mugabe wanted hyperinflation? He is a really intelligent man who believes in nationalism and socialism, and his Keynesian economists will have advised him that quantitative counterfeiting was the best way to go, to help boost the economy of Zimbabwe. Hence, we are where we are, with Zimbabwe being the basket case of Africa rather than the former bread basket of Africa it used to be.
The best option is to kill off QC right now. That will then induce much larger interest rates, circa 10%, plus an incredibly painful and sharp recession. However, if everyone holds their nerve, this will be over in about 18 months, give or take six months either side. Malinvested companies will go to the wall, with their bankruptcies clearing out debt and leaving a pool of resources in place which can be better placed by more successful entrepreneurs, and although it won't be pretty, we will come through to the other side in more-or-less one piece. The other beauty of stopping QC, is that the UK government will overnight run out of the money which the BoE is pouring into the economy, and will therefore be forced to sack hundreds of thousands of government employees.
This necessary removal of consumption and release of productive assets, will also spur the recovery.
There are two other options, of course. The first is to let QC rip until we have massive inflation, let's say for two more years, and then to introduce my preferred plan above, along with really massive interest rates, in the 25% range. Yes, this will also eventually 'work' to create a recovery, but the massive induced recession will be bloody indeed, taking down many companies who would have survived a much earlier recession, wiping out completely the savings of most of the tax-paying population, as they try to survive this gargantuan mess, probably putting millions of public sector employees onto the street, in a possibly revolutionary situation, and possibly therefore stimulating military dictatorship.
The final option will be the government inducement of some horrific war, perhaps in Pakistan or somewhere else in the Middle-East, the re-introduction of the draft, and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of boys and girls on the altar of socialism, to clear the 'surplus' demand brought on by all of this Keynesianism.
(Which incidentally makes me ask the question, if military conscription is re-introduced into Britain, will it also be compulsory for girls, as well as for boys? - It would hardly seem 'fair' if it wasn't - but I digress.)
I don't think even British politicians want that, however, but neither do they want to endure a proper recession. So the Maturin Towers view is that quantitative counterfeiting will continue, to create a Japanese-style stagflation, but that this will grow into massive inflation. At that point, war, military dictatorship, or hyperinflation will beckon, so the British political class will step back and then induce the necessary recession. The longer they leave this, the bloodier this will be, and the longer it will take to recover from.
So let's just do it now. Let's just do it and get it over with.
He suggests that we are heading into Japanese-style stagflation, one of the three options long predicted by AngloAustria (along with Zimbabwe style hyperinflation, or a complete total economic meltdown caused by very large interest rates).
However, Mr Conway goes on to say two other interesting things:
The one crumb of comfort is for those terrified about the impending threat of Zimbabwe-style hyperinflation: with quantitative easing still not working prices are hardly likely to get out of control. The Japan-style scenario of sticky deflation still looks like the larger long-term threat. At least for the time being....I presume by the first comment he means people like me. However, I am not 'terrified' by hyperinflation. I am just quite coldly rational about the Austrian analysis which tells us quite clearly that 'quantitative counterfeiting' will lead to massive inflation, and if pumped up hard enough, to crack-up-boom hyperinflation (e.g. Weimar Republic, Zimbabwe, etc.).
...This credit crunch ain't over yet. And more worryingly, the Bank's drastic efforts may not even be working. Time to hope and pray the QE programme starts yielding results, and fast.
The BEST option we can hope for, with the current policy, is Japanese stagflation. And that's why Mr Conway's second comment is even more interesting. Because if Bank of England insiders are thinking what he is thinking, that it is 'time to hope and pray the QE programme starts yielding results', then they will only be able to see one course of action, now that quantitative counterfeiting has so obviously failed.
And THAT will be to do a lot more of it. Hence, we are walking ourselves into Zimbabwe, stage by dreadful stage.
Does anyone really think Robert Mugabe wanted hyperinflation? He is a really intelligent man who believes in nationalism and socialism, and his Keynesian economists will have advised him that quantitative counterfeiting was the best way to go, to help boost the economy of Zimbabwe. Hence, we are where we are, with Zimbabwe being the basket case of Africa rather than the former bread basket of Africa it used to be.
The best option is to kill off QC right now. That will then induce much larger interest rates, circa 10%, plus an incredibly painful and sharp recession. However, if everyone holds their nerve, this will be over in about 18 months, give or take six months either side. Malinvested companies will go to the wall, with their bankruptcies clearing out debt and leaving a pool of resources in place which can be better placed by more successful entrepreneurs, and although it won't be pretty, we will come through to the other side in more-or-less one piece. The other beauty of stopping QC, is that the UK government will overnight run out of the money which the BoE is pouring into the economy, and will therefore be forced to sack hundreds of thousands of government employees.
This necessary removal of consumption and release of productive assets, will also spur the recovery.
There are two other options, of course. The first is to let QC rip until we have massive inflation, let's say for two more years, and then to introduce my preferred plan above, along with really massive interest rates, in the 25% range. Yes, this will also eventually 'work' to create a recovery, but the massive induced recession will be bloody indeed, taking down many companies who would have survived a much earlier recession, wiping out completely the savings of most of the tax-paying population, as they try to survive this gargantuan mess, probably putting millions of public sector employees onto the street, in a possibly revolutionary situation, and possibly therefore stimulating military dictatorship.
The final option will be the government inducement of some horrific war, perhaps in Pakistan or somewhere else in the Middle-East, the re-introduction of the draft, and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of boys and girls on the altar of socialism, to clear the 'surplus' demand brought on by all of this Keynesianism.
(Which incidentally makes me ask the question, if military conscription is re-introduced into Britain, will it also be compulsory for girls, as well as for boys? - It would hardly seem 'fair' if it wasn't - but I digress.)
I don't think even British politicians want that, however, but neither do they want to endure a proper recession. So the Maturin Towers view is that quantitative counterfeiting will continue, to create a Japanese-style stagflation, but that this will grow into massive inflation. At that point, war, military dictatorship, or hyperinflation will beckon, so the British political class will step back and then induce the necessary recession. The longer they leave this, the bloodier this will be, and the longer it will take to recover from.
So let's just do it now. Let's just do it and get it over with.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
It was nuffin' to do wiv me, guv...
Brown almost cracks today in this Sky News interview with Adam Boulton. Any Labour MP in possession of an attention span longer than three minutes who watches this, will tonight be sharpening his or her dagger for Brown's back on Friday.
Surely it can't be much longer now?
Although perhaps not as obviously funny as the dancing comedian a few weeks ago, you can still watch it and weep with laughter, if you're a seasoned Brown watcher. Though if you don't have the stomach for a whole fifteen minutes of this buck-passing maniac, then skip through to 9:40 where he really starts to lose control, with all sorts of assertions about how nothing is anything to do with him, but how he does know all the reasons behind everything, though he won't reveal how, in a twisted kind of tortological maze which involves throwing your friends quite happily beneath the Bulls of Pamplona, so long as you make it out of the game yourself.
As denverthen says on his blog, look out for the particularly murderous stare right at the end, which made me realise where Brown is going to end up. He's going to play a psychopathic lunatic on either 'Cracker' or 'Taggart'. Check it out:
For more information, visit Denverthen's place.
Surely it can't be much longer now?
Although perhaps not as obviously funny as the dancing comedian a few weeks ago, you can still watch it and weep with laughter, if you're a seasoned Brown watcher. Though if you don't have the stomach for a whole fifteen minutes of this buck-passing maniac, then skip through to 9:40 where he really starts to lose control, with all sorts of assertions about how nothing is anything to do with him, but how he does know all the reasons behind everything, though he won't reveal how, in a twisted kind of tortological maze which involves throwing your friends quite happily beneath the Bulls of Pamplona, so long as you make it out of the game yourself.
As denverthen says on his blog, look out for the particularly murderous stare right at the end, which made me realise where Brown is going to end up. He's going to play a psychopathic lunatic on either 'Cracker' or 'Taggart'. Check it out:
For more information, visit Denverthen's place.
The Schiff Report on General Motors
If ever you're in Abu Dhabi, you must pay a visit to the Emirates Palace hotel, which is a vision of marble, gold, wood, and granite, all in the most impeccable taste.
Alas, whenever I go to Abu Dhabi I get the Crowne Plaza, whereas Mr Schiff gets the Emirates Palace, which perhaps tells you everything you need to know about Mr Schiff. But then, he does deserve it, because of his incredible ability to break down the most complex situations into a straightforward narrative, as in the brilliant video blog post below:
BTW, the Pravda editorial the Schiffmeister refers to above, is this:
=> American capitalism gone with a whimper
Alas, whenever I go to Abu Dhabi I get the Crowne Plaza, whereas Mr Schiff gets the Emirates Palace, which perhaps tells you everything you need to know about Mr Schiff. But then, he does deserve it, because of his incredible ability to break down the most complex situations into a straightforward narrative, as in the brilliant video blog post below:
BTW, the Pravda editorial the Schiffmeister refers to above, is this:
=> American capitalism gone with a whimper
Sky News: Jacqui Smith to be booted out as Home Secretary
Sky News has just reported on TV that they are certain that Jacqui Smith is to be booted out as Home Secretary, on Friday. I think it's time for that Marco Tardelli moment again! :-)
Well, at least we now know how Brown is going to deal with the problem of having Darling on the back benches.
Gordon will be desperate to prevent a 'Geoffrey Howe' moment, so AngloAustria's prediction is that Darling will be offered the Home Office, to keep him quiet, when he is sacked from the Treasury.
But here's the thing. Smith is about to be sacked because of her house flipping and dubious expenses. But she is going to be booted out to the outer darkness on the back benches. However Darling is about to be sacked because of his house flipping and dubious expenses. But he's going to be moved to another highly-paid position deep within the government? (This is mainly because he knows where all of Brown's bodies are buried, whereas Smith doesn't even know where her husband is watching gay porn movies on the taxpayers' tab.)
It hardly smacks of fairness, from Brown, a man who prides himself on 'social justice'. Or is it merely because Brown is a hopeless basket case and his entire government is in complete meltdown and disarray?
And here's another thing, while we're on the subject. Why is the Labour party going into an election and then holding it's reshuffle after the election? Surely the honest thing to do would be to reshuffle first, then campaign, so that the voters can see what they're voting for?
Sorry. Got mixed up with 'honesty' and 'politics' there. It won't happen again.
Well, at least we now know how Brown is going to deal with the problem of having Darling on the back benches.
Gordon will be desperate to prevent a 'Geoffrey Howe' moment, so AngloAustria's prediction is that Darling will be offered the Home Office, to keep him quiet, when he is sacked from the Treasury.
But here's the thing. Smith is about to be sacked because of her house flipping and dubious expenses. But she is going to be booted out to the outer darkness on the back benches. However Darling is about to be sacked because of his house flipping and dubious expenses. But he's going to be moved to another highly-paid position deep within the government? (This is mainly because he knows where all of Brown's bodies are buried, whereas Smith doesn't even know where her husband is watching gay porn movies on the taxpayers' tab.)
It hardly smacks of fairness, from Brown, a man who prides himself on 'social justice'. Or is it merely because Brown is a hopeless basket case and his entire government is in complete meltdown and disarray?
And here's another thing, while we're on the subject. Why is the Labour party going into an election and then holding it's reshuffle after the election? Surely the honest thing to do would be to reshuffle first, then campaign, so that the voters can see what they're voting for?
Sorry. Got mixed up with 'honesty' and 'politics' there. It won't happen again.
Patricia Hewitt to stand down as MP at general election
Forget Harperson. Forget Blears. Forget Cooper. Forget Beckett. Forget even the nightmarish Dawn Primarolo. No, the female Labour MP who makes me run screaming into the street the most has got to be the hideously ugly Australian re-tread, Patricia "No, I really am much better than you, you ignorant serf" Hewitt.
Words fail me on how much I loathe this self-serving, arrogant, condescending, ignorant, money-grabbing, slimy, patronising, evil,... [there will now be a short interlude] ..., hideous, tax raising, liberty destroying witch.
The world will be a much, much better place when she disappears into a quangocracy of Accenture directorships, or even better, sods off back down to Australia; I won't even mind as a taxpayer buying her a business class ticket, so long as it's strictly one-way only. But check this out for a parting line:
And what's this about "serve"? Surely "serve myself" would be much more appropriate for this most revolting of antipodean pork troughers?
But thank the Lord she has gone, for whatever reason she is currently trying to hush up.
So, how good did I feel when I heard this morning that Patricia Hewitt was history? Well, check out this goal celebration of Marco Tardelli when he put Italy 2-0 up in the 1982 World Cup final. I think that should give you at least the vague outlines:
Words fail me on how much I loathe this self-serving, arrogant, condescending, ignorant, money-grabbing, slimy, patronising, evil,... [there will now be a short interlude] ..., hideous, tax raising, liberty destroying witch.
The world will be a much, much better place when she disappears into a quangocracy of Accenture directorships, or even better, sods off back down to Australia; I won't even mind as a taxpayer buying her a business class ticket, so long as it's strictly one-way only. But check this out for a parting line:
“I didn’t plan this. I did initially want to serve another term. But I feel the time is right. The truth is that after 13 years as an MP and 10 years in Government, I have not seen enough of my family. They have paid a high price for that.”Dear Lord. What terrible scandal is about to come out on Hewitt? It must be a corker.
And what's this about "serve"? Surely "serve myself" would be much more appropriate for this most revolting of antipodean pork troughers?
But thank the Lord she has gone, for whatever reason she is currently trying to hush up.
So, how good did I feel when I heard this morning that Patricia Hewitt was history? Well, check out this goal celebration of Marco Tardelli when he put Italy 2-0 up in the 1982 World Cup final. I think that should give you at least the vague outlines:
No problem
Uncle Gary on those green shoots.
(WARNING: Do not read while holding sharp objects, cyanide pills, or while standing on cliff edges.)
(WARNING: Do not read while holding sharp objects, cyanide pills, or while standing on cliff edges.)
Geoff Hoon behaves like a Hoon, Shock
Yes, they really are all at it, including Geoff Hoon, perhaps the greatest scraper of allowances in the whole of the House of Commons, which is really saying something.
=> MPs' expenses: Geoff Hoon claimed on two homes at the same time
How these Hoons can retire as millionaires with large property portfolios, after an entire lifetime spent doing nothing except re-branding Karl Marx as hot air, or perhaps writing the odd Guardian puff piece, is no longer a mystery, of course. But even so, the outright thievery that has gone on is still simply astonishing.
Has Gordon 'Micawber' Brown not sacked half his cabinet yet? Has he not called a General Election yet?
Why not? What exactly is he hanging on for? The second coming of Christ? I don't think even that would help, such is the low opinion of these millenial socialists.
I watched the BBC's Newsnight programme last night, for the first time in a while and even old Jezzer Paxo was excoriating in his destruction of Alistair Darling and the whole wrecking crew. Unfortunately, Harriet Harperson was brought on to defend the government, which meant I had to turn the television off immediately for fear of putting a brick through it, but if even old Jeremy 'Call me a Closet Pinko' Paxman is putting the boot in, then Labour really are in trouble.
Check out the first couple of minutes of the following programme introduction for more entertainment:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00kwqxx/Newsnight_01_06_2009
=> MPs' expenses: Geoff Hoon claimed on two homes at the same time
How these Hoons can retire as millionaires with large property portfolios, after an entire lifetime spent doing nothing except re-branding Karl Marx as hot air, or perhaps writing the odd Guardian puff piece, is no longer a mystery, of course. But even so, the outright thievery that has gone on is still simply astonishing.
Has Gordon 'Micawber' Brown not sacked half his cabinet yet? Has he not called a General Election yet?
Why not? What exactly is he hanging on for? The second coming of Christ? I don't think even that would help, such is the low opinion of these millenial socialists.
I watched the BBC's Newsnight programme last night, for the first time in a while and even old Jezzer Paxo was excoriating in his destruction of Alistair Darling and the whole wrecking crew. Unfortunately, Harriet Harperson was brought on to defend the government, which meant I had to turn the television off immediately for fear of putting a brick through it, but if even old Jeremy 'Call me a Closet Pinko' Paxman is putting the boot in, then Labour really are in trouble.
Check out the first couple of minutes of the following programme introduction for more entertainment:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00kwqxx/Newsnight_01_06_2009
Monday, June 01, 2009
MPs' expenses: Alistair Darling pays back expenses
Caught with his hands in the till by a camera he didn't know about, crook Alistair Darling has said that he will pay back some of the money he stole.
Which is nice.
Why he hasn't resigned yet as Chancellor though, is beyond me.
I tell you what Alistair, this year I will pay absolutely no taxes and fudge all of my books, and if the tax authorities later catch up with me, and if they can prove it, I'll pay back a bit of what they say they owe me. Obviously, they'll be no other come back, because if all the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer has to do is grudgingly hand back money owed, when caught, with no other consequence, then surely that's good enough for the rest of us.
Which is nice.
Why he hasn't resigned yet as Chancellor though, is beyond me.
I tell you what Alistair, this year I will pay absolutely no taxes and fudge all of my books, and if the tax authorities later catch up with me, and if they can prove it, I'll pay back a bit of what they say they owe me. Obviously, they'll be no other come back, because if all the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer has to do is grudgingly hand back money owed, when caught, with no other consequence, then surely that's good enough for the rest of us.
Licking for England
Crikey!Apparently you'll soon be able to lick Daniel Craig's torso and swimming trunks, in the form of a new ice lolly from Del Monte.
What will they think of next?
I don't think it will take a genius to work out that this new product will sell particularly well among about 90% of the female population, and about 10% of the male population.
The free market. Don't ya love it?! :-)
Is Sir Bufton Heffmeister the next Blessed Margaret?
It would appear that Bonson Jorris is ecstatic about the news that Simon Heffer has announced that he may be running for Parliament, at the next general election.Well, we shall see.
Bonson himself lost a lot of his free market pizazz when he entered the House of Commons, and has only really regained it since he left, unencumbered with the old baggage of needing to worry about what people in Liverpool thought about him.
The road to a free Britain will be a bumpy one and will by necessity require an involvement with the tax-fed gravy shop in Westminster. If the Heffmeister and the Prince of Light Hannan can both be persuaded to enter the House of Commons, to knock some heads together, then I will wish them both the best of British luck.
However, as we witnessed when Bonson himself was neutered by the green leather benches, the British governmental system has a way of sucking in and smothering all those outsiders who dare to enter it with axes.
Assuming the Heffmeister enters as a Conservative, and the Conservatives win the next election, how long will it be before the tax machine offers him a governmental sinecure? And then how long will it take for the seductions of First Class travel and comfortable limousines to work their magic? Because the Heff will stand head and shoulders above everyone except perhaps Hannan, if he refuses a government post then he shall look like Gulliver refusing to help the Lilliputians.
Once again assuming he succumbs to the flattery and the bribery of being offered a post, perhaps Education Minister, the day it will be all over for him will then be the first day he has to tell a lie, "For the Good of the Cabinet, the Government, and the Country". Unfortunately, this will probably be about three days into his ministerial career. Real Politik has a way of grabbing everyone.
Alas, I think it will grab Mr Heffer too. But, perhaps he can prove me wrong. Perhaps he can prove to be the next Margaret Thatcher?
Therefore, AngloAustria is placed into a difficult predicament. The long-term best we can hope for is that Parliament becomes such a laughing stock that it loses all of its legitimacy and it simply fades away, with people refusing to follow government regulations or pay government taxes, to discover the land of freedom that awaits beyond both.
However, back in the real world, Maturin Towers needs some relief right now from the menace and failure of government. So it's a tough one.
Hmmm...
The short-termist within me wants the Heff to stand, and then bring us some freedom. The long-termist within me wants the Heff to stand aloof, and to help destroy Parliament. The optimist within me hopes that the Heff can both stand for Parliament and help to destroy its power from within. The pessimist within me thinks he will be neutered within months of taking his seat and used simply as another random useful idiot to help keep the taxes pouring into the gaping mouths of the millions of tax eaters who infest this country.
Difficult.
I suppose though, on reflection, that what the human condition requires is some sport, some entertainment, and sometimes the occasional laugh. So on balance, I think he's got to go for it, if only to get on the nerves of all the self-serving idiots who read the Guardian.
So good luck, Sir Bufton Tufton Heffmeister. (Though I do think you're going to need it.)
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