In my garden we have a couple of decorative mirrors. That makes it sound grander than it really is but they’re just a couple of wall mirrors re-purposed to create interesting reflections and an impression of space. Each morning this week, a blackbird has flown down, seen his image in the mirror and embarked on a furious squawking fight against his reflection. He fights himself with ever-increasing desperation as his opponent refuses to back down. It must be like that scene in a horror movie where you fight a monster that just keeps getting back up, impervious to your blows. Anxious that he’ll flake out from fear and exhaustion, we intervene and shoo him away.
He’s probably telling the story to the other blackbirds even now. “It was like something from Hitchcock” he’ll be telling them.
Isn’t this almost a perfect metaphor for the British Conservative party today?
The more they see themselves in the mirror, the more they find to hate and the more violently they attack. The infighting is like nothing we had previously seen in British politics – and that’s saying something, because we have a pretty tasty history of sharp knives and betrayal.
With luck, it’s the death rattle of a government soon to be voted into oblivion. After all, in some cultures, blackbirds do symbolise death.
It would be nice to think this incarnation of the Conservatives will be booted out of government for a long time, after taking the piss so engregiously. Sadly, I’m not so sure it works that way. The shameless greed, corruption and disregard for the national interest should alienate an entire generation. We have certainly never had a government this bad in my lifetime. Unfortunately other more decent folks may be tarred with the same brush and the damage done to the whole political class may be irreparable.
This is the bit where I conclude with a quirky bit of .. but looking on the bright side….ism. Maybe something whimsical or Wodehousian.
Or maybe, like that monster in the horror movie, they’ll get back up, zombie-like, and return.
Boris: the sequel. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Mwah hah hah.
The Aspidistra 