El Criador Goes Too Far

El Criador de Gorilas is a brilliant blog but its pseudonymous author – though right to attack the ignorant ranting of Quintín -  goes too far when he includes Thatcher and Nehru in his list of leaders who served longer than Hugo Chávez has (so far) and who didn’t go on to establish themselves as virtual monarchs.

While it’s true that prime ministers in nations with parliamentary systems based on the British system  exercise a degree of power comparable to that wielded by Chávez, the difference lies in the fact that that power is delegated to them by parliament and what parliament gives, it can  take away. Thatcher, who would just loved to have gone on forever as prime minister,  was removed from office by her own MPs, who saw her continuing in office as lessening their own chance of reelection.

In a presidential system with fixed terms the only way you can rid of the boss is through an impeachment system that requires special majorities and God knows what else besides to work. In Brit-style parliamentary democracies all it needs is a lost confidence or finance bill vote, or a successful heave on the back benches and it’s goodnight Vienna for the sitting prime minister.

Anyone really believe that there’s any chance of Chávez ever being impeached, no matter what he gets caught doing?

Unlike Chávez, Brian Cowen, Gordon Brown and Stephen Harper all have to watch their backs at all times if they want a decent stretch in office and they know not the day nor the hour when their party’s men in gray suits will come to tell them that the game is up.

Free Speech

Nowadays, perhaps especially among the urban intellectual caste, you cannot raise your voice against even the most foul antisemite, if that same antisemite uses words such as “Israel” or “Zionist” in the same breath as his other veiled utterances of Jew-hatred. You will be told that you are equating legitimate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.You will be told, ‘This is part of a legitimate debate.’ But if you say, no it isn’t, you will be told, ‘This is just how the Jews suppress free speech to silence criticism of Israel.’ If you say, ‘That sounds like one of those old antisemitic canards; show me some evidence that it is true,’ you will be called a Zionist, which is one of the worst things you can call someone these days. If you talk back, you will hear someone calling you a Zionazi. You will soon hear people telling you to shut up.

Terry Glavin gets it dead right, here.