The following line is a thing of beauty! ‘She has now attempted to present herself as the moderate pragmatic force within Conservatism during the Brexit years, with the only defect in her account being the entirety of her actions through the period’
Fascinating (and amusing) as ever, though I think they are all psychologically interesting to a degree (I agree that Cameron is the least so) and, for that matter, so were all their predecessors that I can remember (i.e. Heath, Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major – though of these Callaghan perhaps the least so). Perhaps all political leaders are, by definition, psychologically unusual?
I notice you don’t profile Sunak. My take, FWIW (extracted from a longer attempt at it, looking at how he flips back and forward between competent/traditionalist and maladroit/populist):
“I don’t think that it is possible any more, if it ever was, to regard Sunak as an enigma, or even as a very inexperienced politician still feeling his way. Instead, I think it is now beyond reasonable doubt that his plasticity is not the shiny cover for some deeper core of belief or purpose, it is just all there is to him. It’s not even a matter of the familiar attempt of many politicians to be all things to all people and who end up pleasing no one. It’s just that there is less to him than meets the eye. There are no hidden depths, just a well-concealed depthlessness. He is impossible to read not because of any inscrutability of purpose but because, quite simply, there is nothing to read.”
Anyway, thanks for the newsletter. It's the only one I'm a paid subscriber to, and well worth the money so far. Cheers, Chris Grey
Some great insights in this column. I wonder if the big problem here is that really Truss is a typical backbencher. Slightly over committed to dogmatic beliefs, not especially telegenic or good with a script, or at responding to unanticipated events, an indefinable 'weirdness' that many comment on and yet seems characteristic of a number of Tory backbenchers when seen up close. You can imagine her agitating for her libertarian beliefs in that capacity for decades. What's gone wrong here is the lack of calibre in modern Westminster, meaning she's been catapulted way over her pay grade, first to cabinet rank and then to the highest position in the land.
Very good once again Ian. I'm not sure if I'm more worried by Truss, or by those who might genuinely support her returning to power (if there are any that wouldn't support her for grifting purposes).
On a separate note, the line "Sometimes we fail because we're shit at something, not because we're still learning how to do it" is the single most effective aphorism that I've read this year. I might put it on a poster of a cat falling off a branch.
Great piece! Spot on opening paragraph of where we are with the Truss personality:
"She is a journey into the bleakest and most mortifying possibilities of the human condition, a guide to what happens when the internal self comes totally unmoored from its social context."
Loved the psychological analyses of modern day British prime ministers and the need for Teflon resilience as politicians (and writers), before rounding back to the Truss blame culture, leading to the thought hers is the thinest skin of all, and will therefore continue to be the force of her own demise... (please help us god).
I watched The Dropout - the Elizabeth Holmes / Theranos docudrama - last week, and after a while it hits you that Holmes / Truss are essentially the same person.
Except Holmes had a single goal, and was clinically focussed on that throughout everything.
That was was to become rich, and it didn't matter what she said or who she ran over in order to achieve it. Poor Stephen Fry! In a way, she's like Holmes, in that she seems to be single focussed - at self-aggrandisement. She blames everyone else for her failures. She went LibDem -> Tory; Remain -> Brexit; she will explore every avenue in order to find her way forward. She's in a timed maze, where the hooter has gone off, but she's still in there, finding ALL the dead ends. She's convinced one day she'll find the route to success, but for now, it's just failure after failure.
The last paragraph is perfect. She's interesting as a lesson, but as a politician she should be invisible. Ideally by losing her seat at the next election & by having every news & comment producer, editor & publisher on the planet delete her contact details so we never have to see or hear from her again.
Much the same effect could be achieved by a successful prosecution for Misconduct In Public Office followed by a life sentence, so she might only be able to bore the other inmates in whatever secure facility she gets put into.
The following line is a thing of beauty! ‘She has now attempted to present herself as the moderate pragmatic force within Conservatism during the Brexit years, with the only defect in her account being the entirety of her actions through the period’
Fascinating (and amusing) as ever, though I think they are all psychologically interesting to a degree (I agree that Cameron is the least so) and, for that matter, so were all their predecessors that I can remember (i.e. Heath, Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major – though of these Callaghan perhaps the least so). Perhaps all political leaders are, by definition, psychologically unusual?
I notice you don’t profile Sunak. My take, FWIW (extracted from a longer attempt at it, looking at how he flips back and forward between competent/traditionalist and maladroit/populist):
“I don’t think that it is possible any more, if it ever was, to regard Sunak as an enigma, or even as a very inexperienced politician still feeling his way. Instead, I think it is now beyond reasonable doubt that his plasticity is not the shiny cover for some deeper core of belief or purpose, it is just all there is to him. It’s not even a matter of the familiar attempt of many politicians to be all things to all people and who end up pleasing no one. It’s just that there is less to him than meets the eye. There are no hidden depths, just a well-concealed depthlessness. He is impossible to read not because of any inscrutability of purpose but because, quite simply, there is nothing to read.”
Anyway, thanks for the newsletter. It's the only one I'm a paid subscriber to, and well worth the money so far. Cheers, Chris Grey
Cheers Chris. You're spot on about him. He's an extremely tedious psychological example.
Some great insights in this column. I wonder if the big problem here is that really Truss is a typical backbencher. Slightly over committed to dogmatic beliefs, not especially telegenic or good with a script, or at responding to unanticipated events, an indefinable 'weirdness' that many comment on and yet seems characteristic of a number of Tory backbenchers when seen up close. You can imagine her agitating for her libertarian beliefs in that capacity for decades. What's gone wrong here is the lack of calibre in modern Westminster, meaning she's been catapulted way over her pay grade, first to cabinet rank and then to the highest position in the land.
Very good once again Ian. I'm not sure if I'm more worried by Truss, or by those who might genuinely support her returning to power (if there are any that wouldn't support her for grifting purposes).
On a separate note, the line "Sometimes we fail because we're shit at something, not because we're still learning how to do it" is the single most effective aphorism that I've read this year. I might put it on a poster of a cat falling off a branch.
What an excellent column.
Great piece! Spot on opening paragraph of where we are with the Truss personality:
"She is a journey into the bleakest and most mortifying possibilities of the human condition, a guide to what happens when the internal self comes totally unmoored from its social context."
Loved the psychological analyses of modern day British prime ministers and the need for Teflon resilience as politicians (and writers), before rounding back to the Truss blame culture, leading to the thought hers is the thinest skin of all, and will therefore continue to be the force of her own demise... (please help us god).
a Russian doll of shite - chapeau, chapeau
I watched The Dropout - the Elizabeth Holmes / Theranos docudrama - last week, and after a while it hits you that Holmes / Truss are essentially the same person.
Except Holmes had a single goal, and was clinically focussed on that throughout everything.
That was was to become rich, and it didn't matter what she said or who she ran over in order to achieve it. Poor Stephen Fry! In a way, she's like Holmes, in that she seems to be single focussed - at self-aggrandisement. She blames everyone else for her failures. She went LibDem -> Tory; Remain -> Brexit; she will explore every avenue in order to find her way forward. She's in a timed maze, where the hooter has gone off, but she's still in there, finding ALL the dead ends. She's convinced one day she'll find the route to success, but for now, it's just failure after failure.
So well crafted, a written tonic after a week of turgid news, badly presented. Thank you
A deepfake with a pulse. She’s a medical marvel!
Such brilliant psychoanalysis
Sublime writing Ian, funny and insightful.
Agreed, though her saying “I’m ready to hit the ground” does suggest a certain demented self-awareness.
I think we're all ready to hit the ground with her!
The last paragraph is perfect. She's interesting as a lesson, but as a politician she should be invisible. Ideally by losing her seat at the next election & by having every news & comment producer, editor & publisher on the planet delete her contact details so we never have to see or hear from her again.
Much the same effect could be achieved by a successful prosecution for Misconduct In Public Office followed by a life sentence, so she might only be able to bore the other inmates in whatever secure facility she gets put into.
Enough said. Once again, spot on and insightful. Colin
"The embarrassing daydreams of glory half formed while staring out a bus window." Sublime.