Corbyn as Captain Renault
Daniel Finkelstein wrote a column for The Times recently in which he poured scorn (correctly if you ask me) on the suggestion that Jeremy Corbyn can lead a Government of National Unity (GNU).
Here's an extract of what 'The Fink' had to say about Corbyn's shameless behaviour over Brexit - his reference to Captain Renault from the movie Casablanca is particularly inspired.
"The central conceit of this national unity idea is that one might be able to build a majority behind someone else other than Jeremy Corbyn, because uniting behind Mr Corbyn would be difficult. But you know who doesn’t think that? Mr Corbyn doesn’t think that. And as you listen to this plan you wonder if any of these people have ever met or have any understanding of Mr Corbyn.
"The idea that he is about to support a government headed by Ken Clarke or Sir John Major is ridiculous. I suppose Lord Adonis might suggest Hugo Chavez, though his being dead is a nuisance. Mr Corbyn wants a Corbyn government and he isn’t supremely bothered about Brexit. Are there really still people out there who haven’t captured this point by now?
"As I’ve been arguing for the past three years, Mr Corbyn doesn’t mind whether Britain has free movement of capital because he doesn’t believe in capital. And he was always likely to endorse a second referendum only when it was too late to actually have one.
"He’d be perfectly content to fight an election in which we left the EU before election day. He’d express horror that the Tories had let such a thing happen. And dismay at the crisis of capitalism. It would be like the scene in Casablanca where Captain Renault closes down Rick’s café and exclaims that he is shocked to discover gambling has been going on, while simultaneously pocketing his winnings."
Corbyn is and always has been in favour of Brexit and the Labour leader is unable to act as a 'caretaker' Prime Minister because that would give him, or any other party leader, a leg up in a subsequent general election.
"The central conceit of this national unity idea is that one might be able to build a majority behind someone else other than Jeremy Corbyn, because uniting behind Mr Corbyn would be difficult. But you know who doesn’t think that? Mr Corbyn doesn’t think that. And as you listen to this plan you wonder if any of these people have ever met or have any understanding of Mr Corbyn.
"The idea that he is about to support a government headed by Ken Clarke or Sir John Major is ridiculous. I suppose Lord Adonis might suggest Hugo Chavez, though his being dead is a nuisance. Mr Corbyn wants a Corbyn government and he isn’t supremely bothered about Brexit. Are there really still people out there who haven’t captured this point by now?
"As I’ve been arguing for the past three years, Mr Corbyn doesn’t mind whether Britain has free movement of capital because he doesn’t believe in capital. And he was always likely to endorse a second referendum only when it was too late to actually have one.
"He’d be perfectly content to fight an election in which we left the EU before election day. He’d express horror that the Tories had let such a thing happen. And dismay at the crisis of capitalism. It would be like the scene in Casablanca where Captain Renault closes down Rick’s café and exclaims that he is shocked to discover gambling has been going on, while simultaneously pocketing his winnings."
Corbyn is and always has been in favour of Brexit and the Labour leader is unable to act as a 'caretaker' Prime Minister because that would give him, or any other party leader, a leg up in a subsequent general election.
Read Daniel Finkelstein's full article in The Times via the link below.
