The Week UK - 04.04.2020

Talking points NEWS 25

4April 2020 THE WEEK

Jeremy Corbyn: vindicated at last?

“Everybodyknowsthat

pestilenceshaveawayof

recurringintheworld;yet

somehowwefindithardto

believeinonesthatcrash

downonourheadsfrom

abluesky.”

AlbertCamus,quotedin

TheParisReview

“Itisagreatadvantageto

apresident,andamajor

sourceofsafetytothe

country,forhimtoknow

heisnotagreatman.”

PresidentCalvinCoolidge,

quotedinForbes

“Alllogicalargumentscan

bedefeatedbythesimple

refusaltoreasonlogically.”

PhysicistStevenWeinberg,

quotedonTheBrowser

“Theremaybeyearsof

crowdedpassionin aword,

andhalfalifein asentence.”

ThomasWentworth

Higginson,quotedin

TheWashingtonPost

“Virtue hasneverbeenas

respectable asmoney.”

MarkTwain,quoted

inForbes

“Hollywoodis wonderful.

Anyonewho doesn’tlikeit

iseithercrazyor sober.”

Raymond Chandler,quoted

inTheIrishTimes

“You should never say bad

things aboutthedead,only

good...Joan Crawford

isdead.Good.”

Bette Davis,quoted in

The SundayTelegraph

“Indemocraticcountries,

knowledge ofhowto

combine is the mother of all

otherform sofknowledge;

on itsprogressdepends

tha tofall theothers .”

Alexis deTocqueville,

quotedinThe Observer

“Inothercircumstances,the
verdictwouldhavebeenthe
Scottishpoliticaleventofthe
year,”saidTheEconomist.But
amidthecrisis,theacquittalof
AlexSalmondlastweekpassed
relativelyunnoticed.Scotland’s
formerfirstministerwasfound
notguiltyof 1 2chargesof
sexualassault;thejuryfound
a13thchargetobenotproven.
“MrSalmondisafreeman.But
itisclearthathedoesnotintend
togoquietly.”Duringthetrial,
heclaimedthattheallegations
againsthim–whichrangedfrom
indecentassaulttoattempted
rape–hadbeeneither
exaggerationsor“deliberate
fabricationsforpoliticalpurposes”.Afterwards,
hesaidhislegalteamhadbeenunableto
produce“certainevidence”incourt,butthatit
would“seethelightofday”atsomepoint;he
apparentlybelievestheallegationsagainst him
wereleakedbymembersoftheSNPhierarchy
tothwart hispoliticalcomeback.

Salmondleft courtwith“asmug,injured airof
vindication”, saidSarahBaxterin The Sunday
Times.Thiswasquiteextraordinary,because
anyoneelsewouldhavebeenmortifiedby what
cameoutduringthetrial,guiltyverdictornot.
Ninewomen alleged thatthe formerfirst
ministergrabbed theirbreasts andbacksides,
offered unwelcomekissesand off-colour sexual
banter,touchedtheirlegsor stroked theirhair.

Salmond,whoismarried,

admittedtohavinga“sleepy

cuddle”withonewitness,and

towhathisQCGordonJackson

called“abitofhow’syerfather”

withanother–bothmembers

ofhisstafffaryoungerthanhe.

Healsoadmittedthatheshould

havebeen“morecareful”with

women’s“personalspace”.

Clearly,thejuryconcluded

thatthisfellshortofcriminal

conduct,saidAlexBell,

Salmond’sformerspeech-writer,

inTheCourier(Dundee).But

“whenyourbestdefenceis‘I’m

sleazybutnotcriminal’,

it’snothingtosmileabout”.

His“barelysuppressed”grin

outsidecourtwasnotexactlybecoming.

Befair,saidPaulKavanaghinTheNational.

Thetrial’sover.Salmondisinnocent;hewas

cleared ofallcharges. The continuedcasting

ofaspersionsbypeople whowereexpecting–

perhapshoping for–aguiltyverdictisa“grave

injustice”.True enough,saidAlanCochrane

inThe Daily Telegraph.But Salmondstillneeds

tothinkhardbeforehelaunchesa“campaign

ofretribution” against the seniormembersof

hisownparty thatheblamesforhisordeal.

There’s nodoubt thathisownimagehasbeen

“dented” bythetrial:hisownQCsaidhe

wishedSalmondwas “abetterman”.And

startingafull-bloodedcivilwarjust togethis

ownbackmightdogravedamagetohisparty.

Salmond: not guilty, but tarnished

Admitted toa“sleepy cuddle”

OnlyJeremyCorbyn couldsee the
coronavirus crisis asa“vindication
of his world outlook”,saidRobert
ShrimsleyintheFinancialTimes.
InavaledictoryBBCinterview
beforehissuccessor–probably
KeirStarmer–isannounced
on 4April,Corbyncomplained
toLauraKuenssberg thathe had
been“denouncedassomebody
thatwanted tospend more money
than wecouldpossibly afford, in
order to rightthesocialwrongsof
this country”.But now, only three
months later, hehadbeen “proved
absolutelyright”,he declared.
It was, saidShrimsley,“onelast
less on tohis successor in hownot to bethe
leaderofthe opposition, if his entireperiod
in charge hadnot alreadyfulfil ledthatneed”.

“Given howstrangelife hasbecomeinthe
lastfew weeks”, it is easy to forgetjust“how
bizarre”theCorbyn era hasbeen, saidJohn
Ashmore on CapX.Therewere“thecountless
celebrityendorsements, theGrime4Corbyn,
the chanting hordes at Glastonbury”. There
was“theendless internalchaos–the voteof
no confidence, massdefections,never-ending
anti-Semitism and the appointmentofreal,

liveStalinists totheleader’sinner

circle”.Strangestof all,let’snot

forgetthatatthe 201 7election,

Labourwon more than 40%

of the vote–ameasureof the

frustrationin much ofthe country,

andtheenthusiasm foradifferent

kind ofpolitics, especiallyamong

theyoung.Ifthe“least capable

leader” inLabourhistorycame

so closetovictory,“imagine what

someone withabit more charisma

and politicalnous coulddo”.

“Mistakes weremade” during

Corbyn’s tenure, saidKen Loach

in theInewspaper. His Brexit

position, for instance, wasweak andconfusing.

But he wasaLabour leader“like no other”,

who“put theworking classfirst”, inspired the

young,and more thandoubledmembership.

Whatdoomedhimwas hisconstantvilification

not just by theDaily Mail,but by the liberal

press too.Ultimately,Corbyn“leaveshis post a

two-time election loserwho ledLabour in 2019

toits worst electoral performance since1935”,

said PhilipCollinsinThe Times. Any attempt to

put apositive spinonthatonlybetrays the Left’s

strange tendency“toregard itself as the winner,

even fromthe vantage ofobvious defeat”.

“A leader like no other”

Statisticsofthe week

The Central African Republic

has three ventilators for a

population of five million.

Norwegian Refugee Council

Between 1939 and 1945,

reported crimes in England

and Wales rose from 303,711

to 478,394, an increase

of 57%.

The Guardian

Wit&

Wisdom