‘[Theresa] May is a common or garden Home Counties conservative politician. Her stock in trade is prudence, caution, and stubbornness. The vicar’s daughter was woefully miscast as the Robespierre of the Brexit revolution, the embodiment of the British popular will sending saboteurs to the guillotine. She is awkward, wooden, and, as it turned out, prone to panic and indecision under pressure.’
An astute, concise, and well-written piece on the tragedy of Theresa May, which, as it happens, is the tragedy of the Conservative party. The Tory foray into jingoistic nationalism seized the initiative at a huge price — a power they then lost of their own initiative — snap! — making the country even more unstable.
‘To be fair to May, her wavering embodied a much deeper set of contradictions. Those words she repeated so robotically, “strong and stable,” would ring just as hollow in the mouth of any other Conservative politician. This is a party that has plunged its country into an existential crisis because it was too weak to stand up to a minority of nationalist zealots and tabloid press barons.’
A great read!
From the bays of Pearl Coast,
Fish a ton of oysters, cast aside the empty ones.
For the NYR Daily article, click here:
http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/06/10/britain-the-end-of-a-fantasy/