Re: The End of the Party, 1b/1 (Blameron)
anonymous
September 5 2013, 11:25:09 UTC
He's ridiculous and incompetent but it's impossible not to be fond of him, and not just because of that clever thing he does with his tongue, although Tony has every intention of collecting some mutually satisfying reward for his trouble once he's finished nursing David back from despondency. Nor, despite protestations to the contrary from certain former spin doctors, is it just because Michael worships the ground he walks on. Although that certainly doesn't hurt, especially with the scant gratitude coming from his own party these days. Honestly, you depose one brutal dictator and the fucking Labour Party starts treating you like you've contracted Ebola. Got them into government for three terms, one even after the Iraq War, but that's not good enough, nooo. Well, maybe after the debacle this government is turning out to be they'll begin to appreciate what Tony did for them
( ... )
The End of the Party, 1c/1 (Blameron)
anonymous
September 5 2013, 11:31:08 UTC
"I did, didn't I?" Tony smiles, remembering the giddy euphoria of those early years when the whole country was united behind him and he could take the stage at a party conference and be cheered by everyone from Dennis Skinner to Frank Field. "But that's because I put in the graft. That's because I was willing to stand up for what I believed in and take risks. If we'd lost the vote on Clause Four- and we might have, it was touch and go there for a while- it would have ended my leadership less than a year in, and ended any hope we had of winning the general election. You cannot do this with half measures, Dave. It's not good enough
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The End of the Party, 1d/1 (Blameron)
anonymous
September 5 2013, 11:40:00 UTC
It's poisoning him from within, spreading through his tissues like a cancer, and with every concession to his rabid backbenchers the shame grows and weakens him further. If Tony could do one thing for him, it would be to lift the burden of fear from him so that he could govern on his own terms. Let Dave set his own agenda, let him stop trying to thread the needle of far right backbenchers and liberal coalition partners and a populist gutter press and follow his own instincts. Half his instincts are terrible and they would cost him the election, but he's going to lose anyway, doomed by his unpopular party and uneven voter distributions. At least this way he could walk out of Number 10 with his head held high.
In place of fear, Tony thinks, the phrase swimming unbidden into his thoughts, and he grins to himself at the irony. But maybe it's apt. His critics accuse him of harboring a messiah complex, but he has always understood, in a way that most of his party do not, that you can never actually save people. All you can do is
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Re: The End of the Party, 1d/1 (Blameron)
anonymous
September 21 2013, 21:53:01 UTC
Wow, AA, this is terrific! Please don't apologise for your Tony, who was such a pleasure to read! This is clearsighted and sad and gently humourous all at the same time. It's been a long time (I think) since we've had anything so wise on here.
Sorry for the lateness of the comment, and for lack of quotes - commenting in anon mode means I only have part 4 above me, but the bit where Tony identifies gay marriage as David's signature accomplishment, and places him in the lineup of prime ministers past was pretty powerful. The whole piece seemed to me very insightful.
*stops rambling incoherently and lets AA get on with life*
Re: The End of the Party, 1d/1 (Blameron)
anonymous
November 22 2013, 18:01:48 UTC
An extremely late reply to your slightly late comment, but thank you for your kind words, anon! I wasn't sure if anyone would go for Blameron, so I'm delighted to have at least one happy reader.
Please don't apologise for your Tony, who was such a pleasure to read!
I'm glad you enjoyed him. (Although I did think the bit where he equated the Iraq War with the NHS needed some kind of public health warning!)
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In place of fear, Tony thinks, the phrase swimming unbidden into his thoughts, and he grins to himself at the irony. But maybe it's apt. His critics accuse him of harboring a messiah complex, but he has always understood, in a way that most of his party do not, that you can never actually save people. All you can do is ( ... )
Reply
Sorry for the lateness of the comment, and for lack of quotes - commenting in anon mode means I only have part 4 above me, but the bit where Tony identifies gay marriage as David's signature accomplishment, and places him in the lineup of prime ministers past was pretty powerful. The whole piece seemed to me very insightful.
*stops rambling incoherently and lets AA get on with life*
Please don't ever leave the meme!
Reply
Please don't apologise for your Tony, who was such a pleasure to read!
I'm glad you enjoyed him. (Although I did think the bit where he equated the Iraq War with the NHS needed some kind of public health warning!)
Reply
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