Nick Clegg is a Leader with Integrity
18th Feb 2009 22:17:45
Nick Clegg wrote an article for The Times yesterday, in which he discussed the nature of the recession, and how it would affect social change in the country in a broader, more long-term scenario. It's a very good read, and provides a good insight on the work/life/gender balance issue.
He's going to take paternity leave when his child is born, as was reported ages ago in the papers, and he took leave for the birth of his first two sons as well. He's not going to rule out sending them to private school for the sake of gaining "state school" points with the electorate either.
- Nick Clegg
See, this is why I like Nick. He's honest, and straight, and will speak his mind rather than avoiding questions. He puts his money where his mouth is. For instance, he needs to travel across the country to speak, meet the public, and Lib Dem members and councils. Does he travel in a big, luxury, CO2-spewing saloon car? A Mercedes, BMW or Jaguar? Nope. He takes the train. Second class. He's a wealthy man, and his wife isn't short of a bob or two, and they work hard for their money, so they deserve every penny, and still, he chooses to travel using second class public transport, to save his CO2. Because that's what he believes in.
And so back to what sparked this post off. The article. You really should have read it by now, but he talks about various ways in which the recession will affect the social structure of the country. Particularly interesting, in my opinion, was the ideas about job sharing, something which it seems that continental Europe does well. It offers more flexibility to parents and helps businesses who still need the work doing. A fantastic idea.
Typically, though, the tabloids and right-wing media are making Clegg out to be some kind of evil, recession-loving Satan. The Sun, The Telegraph and the Daily Fail Mail all have articles filled with varying levels of bilge and trite. The Sun even says that Clegg "HAILED" the recession.
This is no gaffe at all. A gaffe is a mistake, something wrong. Saying the pension was £30 a week was a gaffe. A small minor mistake to a question that caught him by suprise when he was knackered after conference. So he said the wrong answer, and cocked up. Then he apologised, laughed it off, and got on with his job. Interestingly, Rosa Prince, the person who wrote the short article/post for the Telegraph, says this, in the comments under her own post:
- Rosa Prince
Yes, Rosa. Yes, politicians should be permitted to make grown up points about the unexpected side benefits of the recession. He has some great points about the nature of the work/life balance in the country today, and he's not afraid to say them. Another man would have kept quiet, knowing that the tabloids would jump on him and trash him without even thinking about his point.
He didn't, he spoke his mind and he remains right about it. He's a leader with integrity in a country that needs it. I've been slowly growing in admiration for Clegg's performance since he got the job as leader, and couldn't think of a better person to be head of the party.
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