I don’t watch many Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. Unlike a lot of people, I’ve never been much of a fan, either in his Mr. Universe, his entertainment, or his political, careers.
And I really only recognize two quotes from his movies. One is “Hasta La Vista (See ya’ Later), Baby.” (Voted #76 in the American Film Institute’s 100 Best Movie Quotes).
And the other is “I’ll be back.” (Voted #37 in the AFI’s 100 Best Movie Quotes.)
After two weeks of fairly interesting shuffling about in the search for a new Tory party leader, the “Conservative” Members of Parliament have reverted to form, and have chosen–-in the race to move foward to the leadership position-–the two “continuity” candidates: Boris Johnson’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (until that moment he decided to stab his mentor in the back), Rishi Sunak, and Boris Johnson’s preferred Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss.
One of those two will be selected by the “Conservative Party Membership” (numbering between 160,000 and 200,ooo, in a nation of 67 million), and will become the next Prime Minister on September 5, 2022.
Every remotely reliable poll indicates that both Rishi and Liz will lose in a landslide in the next general election to the Labor Party leader, “Sir” (there’s the cognitive dissonance, right there) Kier Starmer.
Those of us who’ve been dreaming of the moment when the unabashedly middle-class, first generation Nigerian immigrant, McDonalds burger-flipper putting herself through college, thoroughly anti-woke Black woman, Kemi Badenoch might have responded to the sneering Labour leader’s attacks about the inherent classicism and racism of the Tory party, beginning with, “Well, Sir Kier….” will just have to wait for that glorious putdown.
Meanwhile, I’ll chuck a reluctant vote to Liz Truss, because she is–marginally–the actual conservative in the race, and because her work ethic (perhaps best expressed as something like “I took this bloody job (of Boris’s Foreign Secretary) and I’m seeing it through without drama queenery or backstabbing to the end”) speaks well of her. I don’t know if she can escape her wooden and dull image by managing the “Maggie” makeover that Thatcher engineered early in her political life, but, never say die. (Rishi’s very smooth. No accident that many in the British press compare him to Barack Obama. Speaking of buyer’s remorse.)
Meanwhile, there seems to be a growing grassroots feeling that–perhaps–the overthrow of Boris was rather ridiculous (on the grounds of “cakegate” and “pinchergate” alone) and that perhaps it was orchestrated by the aforementioned Kier Starmer, the Labour Party, and their acolytes in the British media, merely because Boris has always been the candidate the Labour Party fears most, and because this was viewed as a marvelous opportunity to clear the field and replace him with another–eminiently beatable–Tory leader.
Crimenutely. I am grabbing the popcorn. And staying tuned.
