I’ve not posted a great deal
lately, for a variety of reasons. For a
long while I thought that I was being haunted by the ghost of Mrs T after I
likened her to the wicked witch. That’s
possible (I know it can happen because I read about it on Facebook) but I think
there may be a more rational explanation: there’s not been a lot to laugh about
in 2016. John O’Farrell has argued that since
the public are generally contemptuous of politicians, satire
becomes more difficult, since ‘…there’s no pedestal to pull them off.’ In the New Year I plan to explore that a bit
more fully, but belatedly I offer some brief thoughts on the Brexit process crudely
linked to a Christmas greeting (which incidentally some of you may already have
seen in card form.)
I don’t think anyone in
government, Remainiacs and Brexiteers alike, thinks the Brexit process is going
well. Perhaps that’s the real reason why
the Prime Minister was wearing brown trousers in those pictures. Mrs May’s major contribution so far has been her
breathtakingly perceptive assertion that Brexit means Brexit. Well, yes, and Christmas means Christmas. But we’ve still got to sort out whether we’re
having goose or turkey, and do we really have to have Uncle Stan and Auntie
Maud round every fucking Boxing Day?
If the Brexit process to date
has revealed anything, it’s that nobody during the campaign, on either side,
had any real idea what was going to be involved. The UK ambassador to the EU
ruffled plenty of feathers when he suggested negotiations could take 10 years
to complete, but not as many as Gary Lineker did when he suggested that ‘that
wouldn’t be fair as most of the people who voted for it will be dead by then.’ There were outraged calls on the BBC to sack
him for that gentle piece of satire – political incorrectness gone mad if you
ask me.
There’s not been a political
issue in my lifetime that has raised such strong feelings, breaking up friendships,
families, and marriages. This has
reached the point where people on both sides are keeping quiet about how they
voted to avoid retribution from their opponents. There will be tensions around many Christmas
tables this year, as families get together for the first time since the referendum.
People will be looking at the uncle they
only ever see once a year and wondering: does he think Farage is a really nice
guy?
Here’s a tip. If you’re a remainer
and you want to check if you’re sharing your Christmas dinner with a strident
Brexiteer just ask them if they fancy any more Brussels – their response will
tell you all you need to know. Wishing
you a great Christmas, and hoping that 2017 isn’t as bad as 2016.
