The starting gun has sounded and we are immediately entertained by the spectacle of Gordon, David and Nick trying to out-do each other in the 'butch' stakes. Who can be the toughest. Who can make themselves seem the most reliable, the most trustworthy. It really is a pathetic charade when we know the truth.
The truth is that 'politics' is a dirty and depraved business and the further up the slippery pole they climb, the dirtier and the more depraved our politicians become. It really is the grossest of hypocrisies for any of these people to talk about 'cleaning up politics' when they have absolutely no intention of doing anything of the sort. Yes, they'll sacrifice some stupid jerk who bought themselves a duck-house on the taxpayer's coin but it will be nothing more than a gesture. Pension someone off when they were heading for the exit anyway.
They'll do nothing about the real cancer that eats away at the core of our political system. They'll do nothing about the cronyism, the peddling of influence, the agreements between friends. They'll do nothing to make our political system 'accountable' because its the very 'unaccountability' that draws them there in the first place. That's what its all about.
You only have to look at how the game is played at our very local level here in Somerset. Who sits in judgement on the activities of our councillors? Their fellow councillors, of course. So who is going to take real action against one of their chums when they know that they themselves, or their mates, are up to exactly the same tricks?
So when you are asked to make a judgement about your candidate don't even imagine that your candidate has any intention of cleaning politics up in the way that you might want politics cleaned up. Ask yourself if your candidate is the least corrupt candidate and if there is a candidate who is less corrupt, vote for them. That way your wallet might just stay in your pocket for a little longer.
Till the next time, I'm Niall Connolly
