A POLITE "NO, THANK YOU"

In my crotchety old age, I am taken aback by how uncivil people have become. I am now in Greece for the summer and in my innocent way, attired in casual summer clothes and a dashing safari hat, I go for my daily constitutional walk in suburban Athens. I greet the locals with a friendly “Kali mera!” and I touch the rim of my hat in the time-honoured fashion. The reaction varies from completely ignoring me (mainly that’s the men) to a goggle-eyed look of horror and, very rarely, a muffled grunt. The Greeks are normally cheerful enough; I freely admit I am not the answer to every maiden’s prayer but I am not (yet) hideously sinister. Maybe the old convention of polite formal exchanges is withering on the modern vine.

I read too that the Moscow authorities are giving lessons to the Russian people on how to smile in anticipation of the influx of soccer World Cup supporters. I suppose we have got used to stone-faced Russians - think of dismal Kosygin, Gromyko and Lavrov, as unwelcoming a trio as you can imagine! I suppose the Russians have not had much to smile about for about a century but “Lighten up, Tovarich!”

Kosygin

Gromyko

Lavrov

Another rum encounter will take place in Singapore on 12 June, the much-hyped summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. This is a meeting of madmen and a meeting of minds is highly unlikely. Kim is a dynasty-obsessed oddball, wholly indifferent to world peace, with a horrendous human rights record. The chances of Kim relinquishing nuclear weapons are minimal. Donald Trump will behave like a fairground huckster, lie blatantly about his deal, and treat Kim as a dumb supplicant in a Trump property whizz. Trump is empty-headed, with no presidential qualities; the FBI head he fired, James Comey, described Trump as “…an unhappy person with a bottomless craving for affirmation”. He is hopelessly unrepresentative of true American values and traditions. His election was a disaster, made possible by the ineptitude of Hillary.

Talking of disastrous elections and inept lady leadership brings us to Theresa May and the Brexit negotiations. Her snap election on 8 June 2017 failed completely. The thin Tory majority was lost leaving the government dependent on the decidedly iffy Democratic Unionists, heirs to bigot Ian Paisley. Laughable Jeremy Corbyn gained seats and spurious credibility. A feebly-led government impregnated by wet Remainers, with only a handful of gallant dedicated Brexiteers is making a mess of Brexit with our country out-manoeuvred by Barnier for the EU and the Irish Republic tail wagging the UK dog. Efforts are being made to create Tory unity but progress is crab-like.

We long for a UK politician to tell the EU to start facilitating Brexit and stop interfering in our democratic processes. Otherwise we will leave unilaterally and withhold every penny of our £39bn exit fee. Running amok is not really the British style but the provocations are intense. Our No, Thank you (aka “get lost”) message to the EU is best delivered by a gentleman like Jacob Rees-Mogg, polite to a fault, intellectually focussed on the issues and as firm as English oak.

Barnier

Rees-Mogg

 Examples of British values and merits were lavishly illustrated yesterday as we revelled in matchless Trooping the Colour on TV. Military precision, pageantry, colour, style, evocative music, tradition within a modern Army, presided over by HM the Queen at 92 and supported by a fine line of princes and princesses. It enriched all viewers and quite simply make us proud to be citizens of this great and modern country.

The Mall, 9 June 2018

SMD

10.06.18

Text copyright © Sidney Donald 2018