Gott in Himmel! Richard Gott,
writing in the Guardian, is harsh towards the Prime Minister:
By seeking to appease ... the principal threat to world peace at the time, he only succeeded in encouraging that country's appetite for aggression and expansionism.
In this case the Prime Minister referred to wasn't Tony Blair but Neville Chamberlain, who features in Mr Gott's book called
The Appeasers, and the country referred to is Germany in the 1930s. However Mr Gott does have strong views regarding Mr Blair.
Having written a book about how the folly of appeasement encourages the appetite for aggression and expansionism of countries that are a threat to world peace you might think that Mr Gott would be keen on firm action. And you'd be right!
Blair is a war criminal who should be locked up behind bars without a vote, not standing for election.
Mr Gott is not a man who minimises the threat, either.
Blair has followed in his footsteps, and is destined for the same place in history's hall of infamy. Like Chamberlain, he is an arrogant and God-fuelled appeaser, the unseemly ally of an unbridled country that presents a global threat similar to Germany in the 1930s.
The United States 2005 = Germany 1939. Wait a minute, doesn't that make Bush the same as... No, that cannot be. Left-wingers only say
that sort of thing in slanderous right-wing caricatures.
I must say, "God-fuelled" is a good choice of adjective that subliminally adds environmental unsoundness to Blair's other crimes. One does feel that it would have been fairer to have at least given Blair credit for the fact that he is C of E and hence fills his tank with Unleaded God.
Despite his name Mr Gott does not appear to be a fan of God, and elsewhere in the article is much peturbed by Blair having a hotline to Him and generally thinking himself the chosen agent of the Almighty. I really think Mr Gott ought to have more sympathy with those taking orders from a Higher Power, seeing that in the good old days Mr Gott himself was the chosen agent of the KGB.
I am glad to see the old boy has been reconciled with the Guardian, where he used to be Latin America correspondent and Features Editor. How forgiving of the present editor to take him back after his predecessor so rudely ejected him.
posted by Natalie at 2:16 PM
