In a functional democracy, the questions politicians have to answer would become harder and harder as the general election rolled on. In the UK, the closer a politician comes to power, the softer they get soaped by the client journalists in their orbit.
As an example, people are widely criticising a Guardian interview with Keir Starmer for avoiding all of the questions to which the Labour leader has no answers:
This absolutely fawning ‘big interview’ by the Guardian with Sir Keir Starmer, one that helps him sell himself as relatable, principled and resolute, never thinks to confront him with his support for the starvation of Gaza’s children – or consider what that says about him.
In… pic.twitter.com/tcRLANkhrm
— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) June 22, 2024
Starmer: more no one than anyone
The extended tweet from journalist Jonathan Cook reads:
In the article, he even gets away unchallenged with criticising his Tory opponent for behaving as if ‘it doesn’t matter what you do on the international stage any more’.
It certainly does, Sir Keir. And what you’ve done on the international stage is assist Israel in committing genocide.
Others had similar criticisms:
‘You asked me questions I’ve never asked myself’
Such as:
‘Why can’t I speak out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza?’
No, not that one.
Sums up the shameful stance of both the Guardian and Sir Keir Starmer, the liberal gatekeeper’s favoured candidate.https://t.co/6b8BM2V3yI
— Media Lens (@medialens) June 22, 2024
Some people highlighted the following:
One mention of Gaza – about protesters leaving shoes in his garden and the impact on his children.
Nothing about the impact of his craven silence on the genocide.
But which is worse here – Starmer or the Guardian? https://t.co/BgGgXTOwi4
— PRESS GANG (@pguk10) June 23, 2024
The section in the piece relates to Starmer’s children:
He says it’s “difficult” at times. Children’s shoes were placed by protesters in his front garden to symbolise the high death toll in Gaza. Even simple things: looking out of their windows, they see journalists in the street. “That affects them. I am acutely aware.”
Whenever politicians are doing something unspeakable, it’s common for the British media to shift focus to how protest affects those who have drawn the attention of protesters. It’s a neat way of not talking about the actions which made protest necessary in the first place:
Keir Starmer said:
“Israel 🇮🇱 does have that right” to cut water and power from Gaza 🇵🇸
Now he is silent over ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu & Gallant 🇮🇱 for using “starvation as a method of war”
Starmer is a genocide enabler.
Never forgive him.pic.twitter.com/488zRLF3KN
— Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) June 13, 2024
How much the media cares about politicians’ right to privacy is notoriously fickle:
Someone needs to tell the Guardian that Sunak has deleted this tweet, and that they all look fucking stupid losing it over this after Corbyn was doorstepped every day for four years. pic.twitter.com/UiEmAzkIUy
— Jamie McLaughlin (@jjsmclaughlin) April 9, 2024
For 5 years, Jeremy Corbyn has refused to give interviews on his doorstep out of respect for the privacy of his neighbours. The only reason so-called journalists continue to turn up outside his house is to harass him and get a 30 second clip on the evening news. https://t.co/IJNiReJf6V
— Frank Owen’s Legendary Paintbrush🥀🇵🇸🇾🇪 (@OwenPaintbrush) July 16, 2020
Back to the interview, it’s not like Starmer had good answers for the easy questions either:
I may be the only person in the world interested in this aspect of Starmer’s personality, but the closer he comes to power the vaguer he is about his cultural interests. As late as 2020, he *did* have a favourite novel – James Kelman’s A Disaffection! pic.twitter.com/Ls6jAupecj
— Elvis Buñuelo (@Mr_Considerate) June 22, 2024
Given its associations with the European Union, I wonder if he’d even opt for Beethoven’s Ninth these days.
— Elvis Buñuelo (@Mr_Considerate) June 22, 2024
Fittingly, Starmer is also on the record as being a fan of Franz Kafka:
I find it very odd that Keir Starmer spent decades telling anyone and everyone that his favourite novel is Franz Kafka’s The Trial—a book he treasured so much he “knew it backwards”—and now can’t even bring himself to admit it in case it makes a Red Wall voter think he’s a nerd. pic.twitter.com/8zNgkAgdcJ
— Eyup Lovely (@eyuplovely) June 22, 2024
We say ‘fittingly’ because Kafka wrote The Metamorphosis in which a human being turns into a giant insect with no discernible personality.
In another example of the Labour leader being given an easy ride, a rival candidate in Starmer’s seat of Holborn & St Pancras noted the following:
My former boss Nelson Mandela would be disgusted by Starmer’s duplicitous, mendacious politics, and particularly his inhumane response to the genocide in Gaza https://t.co/O07fcl0nrQ
— Andrew Feinstein for Holborn & St Pancras (@andrewfeinstein) June 22, 2024
Feinstein is a former South African politician, and we previously reported on him saying:
Our democracy is in crisis. The two main parties are virtually indistinguishable in their offers of permanent austerity, forever wars and environmental degradation.
Keir Starmer, the MP for Holborn and St. Pancras where my family and I have lived for around 22 years, is emblematic of this crisis. His politics are mendacious, unprincipled and in the interests of his billionaire donors rather than the constituents he was elected to serve.
I have seen real leadership in action: I was privileged to serve under Nelson Mandela as an MP in South Africa. His leadership was selfless, principled, accountable, transparent and honest. Everything that Keir Starmer is not.
Sad and predictable, but not inevitable
The British media has always been the press wing of the establishment, but that isn’t an inevitable state of affairs. More and more people can see what’s actually going on, and among them are members of the very same establishment media:
In “two to three years time”, remember that some of us have been asking “probing questions” since before he was even the Labour leader.
Featured image via GBNews
