Rescued by Ken and Boris
Last updated 11:35, Monday, 14 April 2008
When Jeremy Paxman announced this particular episode of Newsnight could be “all Greek to people watching in Gretna Green”, he was probably right. It was a special edition, a debate between the three main players in the London Mayor election campaign, taking place hundreds of miles away.
So why was I hooked right to the end? Because it was a pleasure to watch politicians with a bit of character, who hadn’t felt the need to erase all trace of personality to enter the increasingly grey world of politics.
Ok, I’m talking about two of them – current Mayor Ken Livingstone and bumbling Tory candidate Boris Johnson, who has just nudged ahead in the polls. The third, Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat candidate, who has little media experience, paled in comparison to these two. Enter the inimitable Jeremy Paxman, and it was clear this would be no wishy-washy ‘debate’, where candidates give robotic monologues.
I used to love watching Question Time, and hearing the events of the past week being discussed. Now I barely make it ten minutes in before switching off. Almost without exception, politicians from all parties talk as though reading from a script (and probably are – written by their spin doctor). They ramble on for too long, don’t engage with their fellow guests, and try so hard to avoid any gaffes it makes for extremely dull viewing. Even the token journalist/business person added to the panel isn’t usually enough to add much sparkle.
Thank goodness, then, that Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson exist. You might not agree with what they say, but they bring some much needed colour to British politics. Some say politics should be all about substance not style, but in order to get people interested in the first place, candidates have to possess personalities that will arouse some interest from the electorate. Otherwise the depressingly low turnouts at recent elections will continue to drop.
