A Second Johnson

Since British political discourse is notoriously short of facile parallels to the Second World War, let us consider the career of Joachim von Ribbentrop. A sycophantic snob whom the Führer hailed as a second Bismarck over the diplomatic manoeuvrings of the Third Reich's early days, Ribbentrop was sidelined after the outbreak of war and rapidly became a figure of fun. When the Leader's only interest in foreigners is as enemies or slaves, the post of Foreign Minister ceases to be a great office of state and becomes merely redundant; hence, of course, the presence of the lightweight's lightweight's lightweight, Jeremy C Hunt, as Secretary of State for the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office by appointment to Rupert Murdoch and Her Madge the Queen Gawblesser. With the ghastly Euro-wogs basking in the brilliance of Tumbledown Tessie's personal diplomacy, the Commonwealth merely a set of places for the Home Office to dump deportees, and the Rest of the World a playground which the former Minister for Werritty will soon set to rights, poor little Jerry hasn't much to do except what comes naturally, namely being silly. As a Murdoch minion of some years' standing, it is natural enough that little Jerry should be in the business of re-writing history; and as a member of the NATO-or-nobody Conservative Party it is only reasonable that he should see no distinction between a non-aligned state and a Soviet vassal; but even poor little Jerry should have realised by now that one does not rise in the Conservative Party by insulting countries the gammon has never heard of.