I forgot another of the major comeuppances last year, there were MPs and Lords who were imprisoned because of fraud, in the 2010 parliamentary expenses scandal, but the over-arching thing in the UK was the decline (if not fall) of Rupert Murdoch. He was so influential, so seldom criticised in public, leading politicians were chumming up with his kids, he was in and out of Downing Street and he seemed untouchable. Having arrived with the intention of undermining the Establishment in the 1960s he became part of the establishment, while at the same time sniping from the sidelines at traditional organisations that he had not wormed his way into. At the same time he was producing "lively" newspapers which seemed to focus on undermining the lives and families of anyone who "stepped out of line" or in anyway did anything worthy of criticism.
After the News of the World phone hacking debacle, suddennly everyone felt free to criticise him, and they did! It was rather wonderful to see someone one has really disliked and disapproved of for decades, suddennly recognised as a scumbag by everyone else.
Economic future: very grim outlook. People saying a decade of standstill like Japan's would now be a good outcome and we would be lucky to have it. I still feel that M and I are going to buck the trend, we will get richer during this period, but of course I may be wrong.
Where will next year's comeuppances come from? I also forgot Berlusconi, clearly the most unbelieveable politician, who finally had to stand down, not because of all the corruption and sexual scandal, but due to simple economic incompetence and the need to find someone who really can run the Italian economy. I believe one of Berlusconi's fans was Vladimir Putin (wonder what it was that he admired exactly?) - and I am beginning to think that people in Russia have begun to see that Putin isn't offering the solutions they need, and this maybe the year his regime comes to an end.
Why don't I warm to Putin? To be honest I am rather ignorant about Russian politics, but I understand there is a great deal of corruption, lawlessness and powerlessness amongst ordinary people, and Putin's regime has done little to improve their lot. Life seems fine for "new Russians", but one doesn't hear a great deal about the other 90% of the population. I also find Putin's vanity, and the endless "heroic" pictures of him rather suspect. In one way they could be seen as almost endearing - a continuation of the "heroic leader" pictures of socialist realist art. And perhaps a lot of Russians feel comfortable with that. But Putin - however well toned his body - seems to me to be a KGB official who got very lucky - and rode the wave of robbery that occurred when the oligarchs stole the national industries from the Russian people, and made off with the loot. Putin was there to keep everyone under control and let them get away with it. I may be wrong, but I haven't heard anything about him that has changed my opinion. Maybe he wasn't as bad as the alternative.
After the News of the World phone hacking debacle, suddennly everyone felt free to criticise him, and they did! It was rather wonderful to see someone one has really disliked and disapproved of for decades, suddennly recognised as a scumbag by everyone else.
Economic future: very grim outlook. People saying a decade of standstill like Japan's would now be a good outcome and we would be lucky to have it. I still feel that M and I are going to buck the trend, we will get richer during this period, but of course I may be wrong.
Where will next year's comeuppances come from? I also forgot Berlusconi, clearly the most unbelieveable politician, who finally had to stand down, not because of all the corruption and sexual scandal, but due to simple economic incompetence and the need to find someone who really can run the Italian economy. I believe one of Berlusconi's fans was Vladimir Putin (wonder what it was that he admired exactly?) - and I am beginning to think that people in Russia have begun to see that Putin isn't offering the solutions they need, and this maybe the year his regime comes to an end.
Why don't I warm to Putin? To be honest I am rather ignorant about Russian politics, but I understand there is a great deal of corruption, lawlessness and powerlessness amongst ordinary people, and Putin's regime has done little to improve their lot. Life seems fine for "new Russians", but one doesn't hear a great deal about the other 90% of the population. I also find Putin's vanity, and the endless "heroic" pictures of him rather suspect. In one way they could be seen as almost endearing - a continuation of the "heroic leader" pictures of socialist realist art. And perhaps a lot of Russians feel comfortable with that. But Putin - however well toned his body - seems to me to be a KGB official who got very lucky - and rode the wave of robbery that occurred when the oligarchs stole the national industries from the Russian people, and made off with the loot. Putin was there to keep everyone under control and let them get away with it. I may be wrong, but I haven't heard anything about him that has changed my opinion. Maybe he wasn't as bad as the alternative.
No comments:
Post a Comment