by liberal japonicus
The New Statesman podcast listens so we don’t have to!
"This is the Voice of Moderation. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've actually SEIZED the radio station . . . "
"This is the Voice of Moderation. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've actually SEIZED the radio station . . . "
by liberal japonicus
The New Statesman podcast listens so we don’t have to!
So, she failed to bring prosperity, which Brexit was (in some universe, I suppose) certain to bring. And now the economic mess that Brexit predictably did bring is an existential threat to the nation, and it’s all the other guys’ fault.
Somehow, to an American, it all sounds so terribly familiar. Except that she isn’t bringing billions into her personal account while the country goes down the tubes. Rather irritating for her, one might suspect.
Truss was against Brexit before she was for it.
This podcast appears to be an attempt to monetize the extraordinary political appeal of her spectacularly short premiership. I wouldn’t say she’s less deserving than all of the people who’ve got rich out of right-wing politics.
The thing about Liz Truss I can never forget is Marc Stears, one of her tutors from Oxford saying that
“once Truss had an idea in her head, she was “unshakeable” and seemed to thrive on going against the prevailing orthodoxy. Stears noted her ability to argue a position fiercely, even when presented with facts that showed she was wrong, only to later drop that belief entirely and adopt a new one with the same fervour.”
That’s copied from Google’s AI, but I distinctly remembered it from when she was leader, and did a quick search to find it. It’s (my) bolded part that I find particularly telling.
“often wrong, never in doubt”, it’s called.
I think that’s an AI summary of commentary on what Stears wrote, which was phrased more academically than that.
Pro Bono: that would surprise me, regarding the words in bold. They were exactly what I remembered reading when she became PM. Was AI generating that stuff then?
Oh, I now see properly what you wrote. So if you are right, that must have been commentary, by journalists or other academics, on what Stears had said.
Here’s a bit of what Stears wrote in The Times:
There’s a lot going on between the lines in this assessment.
I was prompted to go back and check. In an article written by Stears in the Times on July 30 2022:
Back in our tutorials, Truss demonstrated an unnerving ability to surprise. No other student matched her mischievous ability to read out essays on any number of the main events in British political history which always managed to say something new; not always accurate, but definitely new.
These essays were creative and self-consciously unconventional. As we argued over the hour, she almost never backed down, even when I did what all Oxford tutors try to do and present fact after fact to try to change her mind.
Pipped at the post by nous! I agree, a novel between the lines.
Yes, the summary conveys the import but not the tone of the article, which was in some ways positive about Truss, with obvious reservations. Stears will have chosen his words carefully.
Yes, positive- ish, but in a very backhanded way.
As Gramsci wrote: “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: Now is the time of monsters.” In an ordinary world the likes of Liz Truss would never rise to power, but in an age of monstrosity her her refusal to be deterred could just win her support amongst the political Kaiju fanciers. Scoff at your own peril.
…or something like that.
It’s interesting that Truss’ Degree classification is not readily available.
Degree classifications went private decades ago. But I suppose she would have let it be known if hers were creditable.
Getting into Oxbridge is an achievement in itself,