Assistant manager syndrome

I never thought much of the late Robin Cook or his gobby ex-wife, Margaret, but I think her conclusion about Alistair Campbell’s diaries (yes, I’m still interested) from his time as Tony Blair’s chief spin doctor does nail it:

What is striking is what a disorganised, amateurish, crazy way to run a country theirs was.

Striking, but not shocking. I think I have said before that the high-level politicians I have encountered in both the US and the UK have, with one exception, struck me as people whose rightful place in the order of things should have been as assistant manager of a pet shop or something. (I may have used supermarkets in an earlier example, but those tend to make actual profits, so I don’t think they’re quite up to that job.) The shocking thing is that we ever buy into the idea that they are particularly clever, and that the dopes are an exception rather than the rule. If we truly accepted just how shambolic the situation is - just how clueless and mediocre at best those with political power really are - democracy would not survive.

So, of course, I welcome Campbell’s diaries and cannot wait for the release of the most damaging material, which he is withholding until after the next British general election.