Knives out for Clarke
In my conference preview published earlier this week I noted the Guardian's sudden change of tactics on Ken Clarke.
Clarke of all the candidates ticks the right boxes for the Guardian - he is seen to be on the left of the party, has Europhile views and is not tainted by a good education or support for the Iraq war.
But any enthusiasm for Clarke was swiftly damped last Friday when the Guardian led with a Clarke-tobacco story and continued the line the next day. Now it's open season on the former chancellor, with columnist Catherine Bennett landing punches on the Rushcliffe MP's ample midriff:
"To see Clarke haul his sorry bulk on to the platform is to appreciate the impact of the past few years of repeated health warnings and reports on the global epidemic of obesity: the big beast doesn't look cuddly, or even bearlike, he looks scarily unwell…
"If… the Conservatives make him their leader, the job will join professional darts, comedy and road haulage in that dwindling set of careers in which it is still possible for a vast smoker to get to the very top."
Hang on - aren't the obese meant to be victims of our savage and uncaring society? Perhaps if you're Tory and obese you're simply 'greedy'. Besides, I can reliably inform readers that in real life Ken is not as big as he appears on camera - sure, he's rotund, but the guy's 65. I've never met Catherine Bennett, but I hope she's a real bloater.
Clarke of all the candidates ticks the right boxes for the Guardian - he is seen to be on the left of the party, has Europhile views and is not tainted by a good education or support for the Iraq war.
But any enthusiasm for Clarke was swiftly damped last Friday when the Guardian led with a Clarke-tobacco story and continued the line the next day. Now it's open season on the former chancellor, with columnist Catherine Bennett landing punches on the Rushcliffe MP's ample midriff:
"To see Clarke haul his sorry bulk on to the platform is to appreciate the impact of the past few years of repeated health warnings and reports on the global epidemic of obesity: the big beast doesn't look cuddly, or even bearlike, he looks scarily unwell…
"If… the Conservatives make him their leader, the job will join professional darts, comedy and road haulage in that dwindling set of careers in which it is still possible for a vast smoker to get to the very top."
Hang on - aren't the obese meant to be victims of our savage and uncaring society? Perhaps if you're Tory and obese you're simply 'greedy'. Besides, I can reliably inform readers that in real life Ken is not as big as he appears on camera - sure, he's rotund, but the guy's 65. I've never met Catherine Bennett, but I hope she's a real bloater.
