And Now We Have Celebrity Politicians

Saturday 5th March

Well it had to happen really, didn’t it?  The dumbing down of society has been almost totally achieved.  TV was the start of it, before then people had to read newspapers or possibly go to large rallies to get a glimpse of their political leaders, they weren’t even heard often on the radio.  Then as TV coverage took over we had the rise of the Political Interview with Politicians suddenly being put on the spot and questioned seriously, even aggressively by Dimbledy, Day or Walden.  But gradually the tables were turned and Leaders groomed and indeed partly chosen for their “electability”, their charisma, their TV appeal.  A few even started to go on game shows like ‘Have I Got News For You’, in a way this was refreshing as it showed us that some politicians like Charlie Kennedy could indeed laugh at themselves, but soon this too started to become a route to success as a Politician.

And now we have the complete success of Celebrity over Intelligence.  Donald Trump is not only a billionaire but a famous self-promoter.  He is probably more famous in America as presenter of “The Apprentice” than as a Property Magnate.  And as such he is just perfect as a Presidential Candidate.  In a strange way being President in America does not entail the usual Political progression we are familiar with in the U.K., being a local councillor, then an M.P. a junior then a senior cabinet minister or Opposition spokesperson and eventually becoming party leader and Prime Minister.  Eight years ago we had Barack Obama, a relatively obscure local politician defeating the establishment Hilary Clinton and then going on to become President.  And politics has become such an ‘establishment’ game that the public love the idea of someone not a regular politician emerging to challenge them.  Nigel Farage over here, and to a degree Boris, present themselves as ‘anti-establishment’ men of the people and have almost become Celebrities first.

I think that Trump may well win in America, like Ronald Reagan before him, there is a hint of glamour; the super-rich must be special somehow, cleverer than everyone else.  But in Trump’s case it seems the more outrageous his statements the more people seem to love him.  I saw a similar if much less extreme thing when Boris first ran as Mayor of London, he would use his ‘celebrity’ to win over the studio audience and make silly but clever statements that were quite meaningless when analysed – trouble was, no-one was analyzing them.  And what next – Supermodels and Pop-Stars, football players and porn-stars running for office?  I wouldn’t be surprised.