I’m at a loss to understand why the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland telephoned the President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to congratulate him on his appointment.From my reading of it Hamid Karzai has the position of president because his regime is so corrupt that his opponent in the presidential runoff, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the process. The first ballot had been “characterized by lack of security, low voter turnout and widespread ballot stuffing, intimidation, and other electoral fraud” (Wikipedia). There had also been a considerable number of deaths in the violence caused by the election, including the deaths of British soldiers.
Apparently Dr Abdullah realized that the second ballot had little hope of producing a different result and withdrew in order to save lives that would be lost were he to pursue further his hopes of becoming president.
Within hours of this corrupt man taking his place as president of a country for which our troops are providing security, Brown was on the phone to him. Contrast that with the fact that the phone at Bute House has still never rung with a congratulatory word for the First Minister of this country two and a bit years after he took office. Fortunately for Alex Salmond any kind of backing from Mr Brown is about the last thing he (or indeed anyone else ....ask Tony Blair...) needs.
Tris: good point. Lets hope that Herr Broon’s congratulations are a kiss of death for President Karzai and his corrupt regime. It is incredible that Broon never felt the need for the usual dithering that accompanies any decisions that he tries to make.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure that Alex Salmond has thanked that Higher Power many times for the lack of a congratulatory phone call from Broon. That would explain why the SNP Government has consistently proved itself to be popular and consistently done well in opinion polls.
I expect, Munguin, that when faced with the fact that Mr Salmond had become First Minister of his country, Brown set up a committee of experts to decide whether it would be appropriate for him to make a call of congratulations. When, some 18 months and £3 million later, the committee reported in the affirmative, Brown, as is his habit, prompty sacked the chairman and ignored the advice because he knew better.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Karzai, I noted that President Obama had phoned to congratulate the man... it goes without saying that Brown was running around like a man possessed trying to find a Nokia that he hadn't hurled at a wall or a member of his No 10 team, to make sure that his call was next and that he beat that nasty Frenchman Sarkozy to be second after Mr Obama.
You're right though, given Brown's history, if I were Hamid, I wouldn't bother buying new hat! I give him three weeks!
Oh well there we are if President Obama called then that explains why Broon was able to act without the usual dithering or without the need to ask Lord Mandy.
ReplyDeletePoor old Jack the hat Karzai, I bet he let the answering machine take that one.
Just imagine the scene......
ReplyDelete"Oh God...No.... Brown....? from England....? tell him I'm out.... or in bed... or dead ... whatever, I can't speak to Jonah Brown.....look what his support did for Tony.... dear Tony who did so much with Dick Cheney to get me the job in the first place and who lent me his old shredder... oh, how I miss these days....."
Perhaps western notions of Democracy do not fit with how the Afghanistanis would like to Govern their nation.
ReplyDeleteseems to me we are trying to undermine islamic rule by importing western type democracy which in an islamic nation is probaly not going to suceed.
Niko:
ReplyDeleteSpot on. Democracy doesn't suit every nation. It doesn't work especially when it is thrust on them by westerners that don't begin to understand their way of life.
My point was that whether I like it or not Brown represents me and I take exception to him congratulating a crook for fraudulently getting his hands on a nice little money maker for another 4 or 5 years.
(I think that the fact that Obama did it was wrong, but he doesn't represent me.)