Politics is a contact sport and participants sometimes let loose with invective: the best insults are clever, shocking and/or contain an uncomfortable element of truth
Daily question time when Parliament sits makes a big difference to the UK I guess (or did, not so sure dominating parliament is as important as it used to be in any of the Westminster systems, given the new media age) but Keating in particular was a big believer you had to first dominate in parliament before you could own the political narrative in the country. Its a shame what has happened with Paul the last few years, poor guy just can’t accept its not 1996 anymore and China really are a threat, but in his heyday there was no parliamentary performer who could get near him, it wasn’t just insults, he won the intellectual argument first, then that gave him permission to have some fun on the attack
An excellent compilation, though no Irish ones apart from Terence O'Neill. You could have started with Sir Boyle Roche back in the 18th century. Have you heard the one attributed to Charles Haughey who allegedly said that Irish Times editorials read as if they had been written by an old woman sitting in her bath with water going cold around her f---y?
No Paul Keating quotes in there???
Such as
Keating on opposition leader John Hewson
“A shiver looking for a spine to run up”
Then of course the great moment, delivered 12 months before winning the unwinnable election while 20 points down in the polls
https://youtu.be/shtgfGV4R58?si=I6Ae5uccrBdGJv6q
And my favourite, less a quote than just a 5 minute evisceration
https://youtu.be/gc96KVsTKtY?si=HQF-M1VOvl3Ey-0X
And of course the perfect description of Peter Costello as ‘all tip and no iceberg “
Australian politics deserves its own dedicated essay, I think.
Daily question time when Parliament sits makes a big difference to the UK I guess (or did, not so sure dominating parliament is as important as it used to be in any of the Westminster systems, given the new media age) but Keating in particular was a big believer you had to first dominate in parliament before you could own the political narrative in the country. Its a shame what has happened with Paul the last few years, poor guy just can’t accept its not 1996 anymore and China really are a threat, but in his heyday there was no parliamentary performer who could get near him, it wasn’t just insults, he won the intellectual argument first, then that gave him permission to have some fun on the attack
Yes, I think daily questions would terrify Westminster politicians!
An excellent compilation, though no Irish ones apart from Terence O'Neill. You could have started with Sir Boyle Roche back in the 18th century. Have you heard the one attributed to Charles Haughey who allegedly said that Irish Times editorials read as if they had been written by an old woman sitting in her bath with water going cold around her f---y?
Yes, I focused on Britain but you intrigue me. I will delve further. After all, the land of “GUBU”…