Jingsamichty

The truly sad thing is that just about everybody knew, and has always known, that Johnson is a lying, spineless twat - even his school report card could be neatly paraphrased as "Johnson is a lying, spineless twat." But that didn't stop Tories putting him forward for the party leadership even though they knew he was a lying, spineless twat, and it didn't stop millions of people voting for him even though they knew he was a lying, spineless twat.

All I can do is hope there is at least a glimmer of 'buyer's remorse' among those who selected him and voted for him, otherwise I fear for what might follow him.

DaveLovesDee

I know you were... I was pointing out why some people believed that...

jackinthetree

Jingsamichty

That's what makes me fear for this world sometimes. It's these people who dominate the top positions. It's the willingness of the general population to de-prioritize ethics and values for what? - It's usually hate for something.

Brexit activated the hate button that has been simmering in Daily Fail and other places. Every time I read that rag, I see the mindset of 49% of the population.

And people are so ignorant. It's like they (we) don't understand that Government requires people with credentials and competencies. Donald Dwump has raised almost $60M USD this year alone....

Sometimes I think the human race is really quite awful but there are so many good people too that we can't give up right?

BEVS

It rather does.

Tumbling_Dice

I like it.

There really needs to be something (I don't know what) done about the p*ss poor quality of people who stand for election. I am watching the NS elections and can't believe any of these muppets is worth a vote, irrespective if they supposedly share your political view.. And then you have Trudeau...

DaveLovesDee

I had this discussion on Facebook with someone who complained that the Scottish Green Party weren't holding the SNP accountable. I told them that if they wanted change within the Green Party, become a member and stand as a candidate. They said they'd never give up their membership of Scottish Labour, so I told them to stop whining about the Green Party.

I'm not suggesting you're whining, what I am suggesting is that parties can only select those of it's members who choose to be candidates, and the public can only vote for those whose names are on the ballot paper. Be the change you want to see.

Tumbling_Dice

It is a good point but I am not sure it is that simple.

Political parties seem to be very ideological these days, to the point of being unable to appreciate nuance, and I would suggest this is at least in part responsible for a low calibre of person being selected. I mean, I myself would consider myself a traditional conservative on some things, but on other matters would probably be classified as holding a more left wing view. Let's say I brought all sorts of goodies to the table that would make me a good candidate - if I did not subscribe to some of the party's ideology I suspect I would be discounted in favour of the individual who was ideologically pure, despite being a waste of space otherwise. I saw this in action (not me) with some people I knew back in NI who tried to get selected for a certain party and were knocked down in favour of verifiable morons for the reasons I have outlined. Not saying this is universally applicable, or is the only reason, but the barriers to entry for quality candidates seem to be rather high.

I am not sure what the answers are, or if there are answers. But we are all scratching our heads that people like Johnson, Trump or Trudeau can rise to the position of running major countries with little to nothing to commend them.