The Conservative Party have denied it officially (though that used to be a clear sign it was true) but the web is buzzing with the question whether this is the first film appearance of the Conservative leader and possibly the next prime minister 'performing' in public.
The question is really does it matter? Twenty years ago Cameron was not asking for the public vote, he was a very different, probably fairly immature, young man. Why should we expect him to have never enjoyed himself and done all the things that a young person does? A bigger question! Given that now there are pictures of so many of us, and in particular young people, on Facebook, in various states if my students are anything to go by, will this be a big problem in 20 years time? Will be expect our prime ministers and ministers to be found in a ton of pictures drunk etc, in fairly revealing clothing, with probably what may be seen as dodgy fashions in the future, but it will be normal. Perhaps also more politicians will say yes to questions about whether they have drunk, smoked dope etc and it will not be used as a way of undermining them. Who knows what the future will hold.
The question is really does it matter? Twenty years ago Cameron was not asking for the public vote, he was a very different, probably fairly immature, young man. Why should we expect him to have never enjoyed himself and done all the things that a young person does? A bigger question! Given that now there are pictures of so many of us, and in particular young people, on Facebook, in various states if my students are anything to go by, will this be a big problem in 20 years time? Will be expect our prime ministers and ministers to be found in a ton of pictures drunk etc, in fairly revealing clothing, with probably what may be seen as dodgy fashions in the future, but it will be normal. Perhaps also more politicians will say yes to questions about whether they have drunk, smoked dope etc and it will not be used as a way of undermining them. Who knows what the future will hold.
4 comments:
It certainly looks like him but he's not doing anything wrong and I completely agree - he wasn't a political candidate then.
I think the future will force politicians to be more open about their past but it will also make them seem more human, which in some cases may not be a bad thing!
I think you're right. Over time people will get much more relaxed about photos and the like from the past as we get a new generation of politicians who have always had parts of their private lives featuring on social network sites.
I suspect it's a bit like the "did you take drugs at university?" question, where the rise of new generations of politicians amongst whom the answer "yes" is very common has taken the edge off the question, except in extreme cases or ones of apparent hypocrisy.
It's quite refreshing to see Nick Clegg remain an athiest, a choice he made in his life and which he hasn't suddenly changed to court that section of the nation.
I'm not sure if the nation will get less de-senstized to that, I can't see Britain having an openly Gay PM anytime soon, and a Home Secretary who admits he smoked copious amounts of Cannabis or took E regularly surely wouldn't last.
Is Britain any less prude than it was in the 1970's, the reaction to Ross, Brand and so on would suggest not.
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