Peter Mandleson – a politician who is actually proud of his country? Its been a while since Starbucks honcho Howard Schultz got him hot and bothered but the incident has stuck in the memory. Can you imagine David Cameron, Gordon or any other politician caring enough to get angry about it?
British, upper class (‘U’), conventional wisdom would be that good, solid, old boys of the empire would never wear their heart so shamelessly on their sleeve. Such girlish displays of emotion are for pansies and dilettantes – not people of substance and position. Many generations of inner circle, elite cadre politicking have branded ‘secret squirrel’ lessons deeply into their scarred souls.
These are stunted attitudes, kept alive and defended by stunted people (i.e. the English). If Mandleson should by some utterly surprising accident find himself reluctantly leading the party or nation – then I’d applaud the success of someone with the balls to cry (or indeed get himself into a towering snit, in public).
