I've let it be known before that I am not in the Lembit Opik fan club. I have generally found him to stand up for very little and be more about his own publicity that about the Lib Dems.
That said, Lembit has really effectively relaunched his political career after the "Cheeky Girl" headlines tonight with his excellent performance on Question Time.
Lots of applause, really effective and passionate speaking on key subjects, bringing up links to Lib Dem policy and taking on both the government and the Tories. To be fair, Priti Patel was atrocious. Her constant "I don't know" and rather odd raising of the tone of her voice like some Australian soap star really did make her seem lightweight.
But well done Lembit, you played a blinder !
3 comments:
I agree - Lembit Öpik performed very well, and came across as extremely credible. He didn't mince words, and took the fight to the others.
Priti Patel seemed to be a bit lightweight, and got caught contradicting herself a couple of times. Maybe it's just me, but her speaking style is also extremely irritating. We'll have to get used to it, as she's almost certain to be an MP after the next election.
Listening to Mike O'Brien attempting to defend Robert Mugabe's legitimacy was painful. I think he was just taken aback by the question (which was related to a current news story, but distant enough that he wouldn't have prepared an answer to it). It seemed to floor him, and the result was all this guff about a rigged election being better than no election at all ... ?!
I thought Lembit was terrible from a Conservative PoV - I would have slaughtered him (politically) had I been on the panel. That said, he was better than Patel. I couldn't believe how crap she was. I, too, found her ignorance and style of speaking embarrassing. I wonder how she got on the A-List.... ?
Apart from the Mugabe comments, O'Brien wasn't too bad - for a Labour rep! Clare Short was being Clare Short. Found myself in agreement with the Hitch (the real one) - must be me getting older.
Lembit is a decent and honest bloke, with a colourful person life, who is compassionate, caring and fair.
He is also probably after Charles and possibly Ming our best known politician. He is an effective communicator and a staunch defender of 'little people'. Those who poke fun at him should realise that it may not be their idea of perfect publicity but it's certainly making him known to a whole load of people, who then listen to all he's got to say, and therefore hear about Liberal Democrats.
Good for you Nich for your article, and people should realise that Lembit may be quirky but effective, committed and real he also is. We need more like that - oh and he's not afraid to laugh at himself.
Post a Comment