Phew, politics not as a force of evil

The world, always a strange place, just got stranger. On Sunday, Britain's new occupant of the same 10ld Downing St tweeted, 'My government will restore politics as a force for good.' This comes with a video showing him chatting with - unlike Boris Johnson, not chatting up - national and international leaders, radiating man-in-charge vibes. Keir Starmer's 'straight talking' may sound rather obvious. After all, who would want people to believe that his government won't restore politics as a force of good, or will seek out to restore politics as a force of evil? Lord Vader from the shadow cabinet, perhaps.

For some, however, such literal virtue-signalling seems to have backfired. Across the Chanel No. 1, Emmanuel Macron is grappling with the fallout of being too blunt. He took a gamble by calling a snap election after the far-right gained ground in the EU election last month, thinking 'Now, before they get too uppity....' Monsieur Macron is now attempting to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle - impressive if it works but, if not, well... ca not so va. What's surprising about Starmer's statement is the idea of 'politics being a force for good' needs saying. One doesn't recall even the Fuhrer admitting he may be on to something bad. Will Starmer now go on to remind people that water is wet and Labour is for..., well, that is a tricky one.