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Ridiculing Politicians Is Always Good. Especially The Ones In Government

June 9, 2010

Ridiculing Politicians Is Always Good. Especially The Ones In GovernmentR.F. Wilson writes: Let’s face it, very few people have a high opinion of politicians. They view them as unreliable, deceiving, pompous and self-centred and believe that the vast mjority of them aren’t capable of doing anything. And it’s not a secret that most folks are of the opinion that the ’servants of the people’ should be under constant watch by the public and the media and that they should be ridiculed by comedians the moment they sweep in to power.

In fact, it is absolutely crucial that most of the jokes and mockery should be targeted at politicians, who hold high positions in government, and that opposition parties should be given less of a hard time by the funnymen. Because politicians in opposition have practically no influence on government policies, especially when the party in power has a large majority in parliament. The opposition can only voice its criticism and express its doubts and cannot really influence the process of policy making.

Political satire and comedy generally lose their relevance if the government gets away with murder, so to speak, and the opposition becomes the target of mockery. Just like it happened in Britain after Labour had swept into power in 1997. Before that the consecutive governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major were ridiculed by all comedians, but once Religious Tony moved into 10 Downing Street political satire in Britain seized to exist – in a sense that the government was no longer the butt of the jokes and comedy sketches and it was the opposition, for some strange reason, that became the object of constant ridicule.

And that was at a time when the New Labour cabinet, with Tony Blair in charge, resembled a bunch of characters from the TV show Spitting Image. You did not even need to invent anything. You could just take any statement or any speech by a government minister, including those of the saintly leader, and recite them to an audience as a long sketch. And it would sound comical and absurd. Even the appearances of most Labour frontbenchers was comical. Not to mention some of the backbenchers, especially the so-called Blair’s ‘babes’.

But did the comedy industry switch priorities? With a few exceptions, no. Just like in the past, comedians continued to mock the Tories. Take that flagship current affairs comedy show on the BBC Have I Got News For You? I have watched several of the old shows recently, taken from different years since 1998. Guess what I noticed? I noticed that the two ‘giants of comedy’, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop, and their sidekicks, were having a go at the opposition most of the time, carefully avoiding Blair and his cronies.

Now why would that be? Was there some sort of an arrangement between the BBC and the two overpaid comedians that they would stick to bashing the Conservatives only? Because I cannot really imagine a satirical current affairs TV show that would actually avoid hitting the government of the time, especially when that government was coming up with absolutely stupid policies and the Prime Minister lied every time he opened his mouth. Not to mention that his lovely wife, with her obsession with money, discounted designer clothes, freebie holidays and a strange choice of friends, was an ideal target for any comedian or comedienne?

She was a natural, Cherrie Blair was. In a sense that she was ideal to be laughed at and ridiculed. And just imagining her with that strange woman, ‘lifestyle guru’ Carol Caplin, would have been enough to write thousands of jokes. Not forgetting, of course, her famous statement in 2005 in a newspaper interview before the general election about her husband being a ‘five times a night man’. All of U.S. President George Bushe’s gaffes paled into insignificance compared to that announcement.

But the British comedians, apart from the brilliant impressionist, Rory Bremner, bless him, just would not notice the irony of the situation. Instead of giving the government a hard time, even after it had started an illegal war in Iraq, they continued attacking the opposition that did not have any influence on what was happening in the country. Was it any wonder that Britain was turned by Labour into something resembling the old Soviet Union: public services devouring billions and still getting worse, propaganda and spin (very Soviet that, by the way) replacing real policy, parliament ignored and stuffed with people, who had no idea how to legislate and did exactly as their leaders told them to do (that was very Soviet too, extremely Soviet).

By sucking up to New Labour, that had nothing to do with traditional Labour, the entertainment world allowed the British political system to become one big joke. And as in any bad joke, the ending was tasteless too: the country was saddled with an unelected Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who has bankrupted the country in order to save the money men and his political career.

But do any comedians notice this? Nope, you would be surprised to learn that many of them are still at it: bashing the opposition and questioning the Tories’ ability to be in power? Just watch some of the episodes of that abysmal current affairs satirical show Mock The Week on BBC2 and you’ll see that I’m right. If that is not called sucking up to the government and prostituting yourself, then I do not know what is.

Mr Brown is one of the most incompetent and unpopular Prime Ministers in British history and yet you wouldn’t know it if you listen to British comedians. These funnymen just cannot force themselves to attack Labour the way they have always been moscking the Tories. Strange, very strange. And it also seems absurd that TV channels in Britain run endless repeats of the old satirical shows of the 1980s and 1990s that were critical of the Conservative governments and yet, no new shows are made that would redicule the current incompetent and corrupt lot that is in power.

And now comes the big question: will the entertainment world in the US, and across the world generally, find the courage to start having a go at US President Barack Obama? Because the way he avoids tackling the big issue is becoming worrying. Not to mention his strange habit of reading from the prepared script all the time and surround himself with aides and advisors who are not exactly the best of people for the job. And do I need to mention THAT Nobel Peace Prize?

Will this happen, or will the American comedians continue to mock George Bush, Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin, as if they matter? Because that would not be right, would it?

– End –

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