Interview: Action Man (Retired)
Paddy Ashdown has done his bit. For this likeable father figure of British progressive politics, it is not all about winning and losing. "Just as well," one may remark, but Paddy Ashdown is a man who has "plans for life beyond Westminster. " I was unemployed twice before I entered politics you know." He appears to be ready to move on.
The reasons for Ashdown's retirement seem dubious. He claims that eleven years as Party Leader of the Liberal Democrats is enough: " Being a leader and an MP requires a lot of vitality and youth," but for one nearing his sixties, Ashdown is still young at heart. Reclining in Ben Seifert's Presidential arm-chair with cigarette and glass of red in hand, he seemed to flout his rigorous, royal marine roots. But Paddy doesn't think there's much point in being what you're not, " I'm strictly Anglo-Saxon...I work hard and play hard." An interesting identity but by no means his defining one.
Ultimately Ashdown is a European, he doesn't believe that a Liverpudlian and a Cornishman would necessarily have more in common than a Liverpudlian and a Parisian. National boundaries have been made redundant by trans-national issues such as drugs, defence and the environment which require a European, if not global, approach.
However, amidst all this flurry of globalization driven on by technological advance and lightening-speed communications, there is a sense that the politician is losing control and that Ashdown may be bailing out of the sinking ship 'Britannia'. "Politics doesn't change economic institutions," he asserts, "rather the other way round....the contract between constituent and politician is being broken because the politician can't control or deliver everything he promises."
Paddy concedes that he may not have achieved all he might have hoped for but he has great hopes for the future; "We are on the verge of a revolution." Power is breaking loose from our own institutions and structures and being transported elsewhere to things like the Internet. According to the Vice-Governor of the Bank of England, "...if Internet trading goes on expanding at the rate it is, it would make the Bank irrelevant," and, no doubt, deprive the government of a considerable amount of tax revenue. Power is being taken out of the hands of national politicians, not only from above, but also from below. The rise of individualism has led to closer identity with local and regional forms of government. Ashdown condones the spirit of change embodied in the Scottish Parliament, but still awaits the day when it will be entirely freed of the controls of Westminster.
Not ashamed to admit that in building a federal Europe, we are in fact creating a monster super-power, Ashdown asserts that, "..it is without a doubt that the Euro will be at least the second most powerful currency in the world." So what of the liberal belief in the power of the individual in the face of these massive and distant superstructures, I wonder. Ashdown is realistic to point out to eurosceptics that there's no escaping the inevitable, but for one who claims to be a "practical politician," his suggestion that I strive to make all superstructures more democratic seemed a bit of a long-shot. I nodded obediently. But there are more tangible ways that Paddy proposes to harness the power that has broken national bounds. 'Co-operation' with our European counterparts is the key. To borrow a time old saying, "if you can't beat em', join 'em!" In the case of BSE, Paddy urges the government to negotiate a good deal whilst it still has a chance. After all, British beef has already been banned from the US market since 1990 and from Hong Kong in 1994...no discussion permitted.
So often politicians entertain something of a love-hate relationship with the press, but Paddy was happy to acknowledge that the press has a valuable role in holding politicians to account for their actions. In this vein, he expressed a decided opposition to privacy laws which would "only protect the powerful." The power of spin was another, perhaps too obvious, question which I was keen to raise with the man who has always appeared less glossy than Tony and more charismatic than John. Paddy doubts whether one can ever really manipulate the press, his simple approach is to, " say what you believe in a fairly straightforward way," Obviously a well rehearsed response, but who can deny the presence of the Alistair Campbells of this world?
Though Paddy dismissed rumours of the offer of a seat for him in Tony's cabinet, the prospect of coalition had always been on the cards. "So where would you see yourself positioned on the political spectrum I asked?" "Centre Left," he replied. And what about Tony Blair I asked. "Centre Left," he replied without flinching. He even raved that he thought Tony's speeches were always fantastic, "they are the same ones I made five years ago!" Good for Paddy, but surely the biggest challenge for a politician is putting ideas into practice which cannot be done without political power. Paddy may be proud that in his time his parliamentary party has doubled, that Liberal Democrats control a good number of local councils and that they are well represented in European institutions. However, in the overall scheme of things, the Lib Dems will have to continue to watch the match from the sidelines whilst Labour and the Conservatives play it out around the mid way line. As coach I'd be tempted to get the Lib Dems. to sub whilst the blue and red teams are relegated for lack of team play. After all, Paddy would say that there are in fact five teams in the House of Commons: two red, two blue and one yellow!
4th Nov 1999