So massive is the hypocrisy and political correctness being displayed over the Alun Cairns light-hearted faux pas over “greasy Italians” that only one question remains to be asked.
And that is, when will the South West AM get his jobs back as Tory education spokesman and as chairman of the Assembly finance committee.
Well, perhaps there is a second question. How quickly before the governmentally-incompetent Italians agree to go back on their independence and invite Austria to return to run not just the north but the entire country.
Mr Cairns made his comment on a BBC radio programme, and it was truly sad to hear members of that organisation, having obtained on the show the sort of lively comment on which the entertainment industry is based, then doing their best to emphasise the seriousness of the happening.
During the week’s regular Tory briefing, they piled in with questions seemed designed to ensure the production of material to fill an extra 10 minutes or so of air time - at the expense, of course, of the person who had been good enough to fill a gap left in their original radio line-up.
At one point, party leader Nick Bourne was asked about whether Mr Cairns could be rehabilitated. Well, it’s done for serious criminals, Mr Bourne replied.
In that one short comment, the ridiculousness of the entire issue was laid bare. This was no street-corner knifing; it was a comment to the entertainment industry. And don’t tell me that the BBC isn’t on occasion involved in dumbing-down their news values.
This journalist at one point got so fed up at the over-zealous political correctness being displayed that Mr Bourne was asked when the clearly non-racist Mr Cairns would get his job back. “How long is a piece of string,” was the reply. Quite short, one felt the leader felt.
Particularly as he later felt that the BBC were trying to keep the story going for their own purposes.
Mind you, there’s another reason why Mr Cairns’s period in the doldrums is unlikely to be long. In a sign that the Beeb can also be fine journalists - I’m being nice to them, now - they took up the entire first part of the briefing by dissecting the Tory’s new education spokesman.
It turns out that the two elder children of Andrew Davies, the South Central AM, attend private school, although the others are at the local primary. Were state schools not good enough; had he no confidence in them; did he agree in giving parents vouchers for educating their children (a method of favouring the private sector); would he favour expanding the private sector ?
His replies were extremely competent. Clearly a man of ministerial calibre (very unlike two of the fading Labour characters in the present cabinet). It was a pity Mr Bourne was not there to hear this part of the briefing. But the message was plain. Mr Davies is a political liability in this particular post.
The answer to the problem is simple. Bring back Cairns quickly. And ease up on this horrendous political correctness which seems so ridiculous to everyone - except to those in the Cardiff Bay hamlet.
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Peter Black // Jun 17, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Clive, Alun Cairn’s comments were not just unacceptable but they were clearly racist. He demonstrated bad judgement in speaking out in the way he did and a view of some Europeans that is unacceptable, PC or not.
2 Mario Basini // Jul 9, 2008 at 6:40 pm
The blog is about as accurate as Mr Cairns’ remarks. He did not say “greasy Italians” but “greasy wops”, a far more pejorative and offensive term. In using it in a broadcast he displayed a level of ineptitude that makes Mr Berlusconi and his colleagues appear political geniuses. (For the writer’s information _ I suspect he or she needs it _ Mr Berlusconi is the current prime minister of Italy.
3 cambriapolitico // Jul 9, 2008 at 7:34 pm
It rather seems to me that Mr Basini is still fighting the world, perhaps beside the Alpini against the Austrians in Suedtirol. I always thought the Italians were too great a nation to bother with Mr Cairns’s senseless comments. But any great nation can be silly - which helps explain why there aren’t that many statues left in Bozen…
4 Michael Williams // Jul 14, 2008 at 10:39 pm
The other day I happened upon an old friend at a bar in Cardiff that I had not seen for a long time . He still very much works in the private sector but has been advising the Welsh Assembly on some very complex and very important issues to do with finance . I will not elaborate for fear of exposing him . When I enquired as to how the work was going his reply was “Great but please lets have Alun Cairns back as soon as possible firing on all cylinders because he was the only member who could understand the complexity of what I am doing “. I was also told by a retired AM that Lorraine Barrett would preface any contribution she was about to make with the remark “Sorry but I can’t seem to get my head around this” . For the good of Wales and the Assembly can this nonsense about ‘Grease” said light heart-idly in the context of a discussion about soccer be laid to rest ! How often have you heard rugby commentators call the French “Frogs” ?
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