10/26/2008

Palling around with Oligarchs

Jonathan Dimbleby made a good point this morning on Andrew Marr's programme on the BBC.

He made the point that whoever you are, and particularly if you are aiming to be Chancellor or if you are an EU commissioner, if you sup with the Russians, do so with a very long spoon.

Dimbleby remarked that the Russian Oligarch that Gideon Osborne and Mandelson were "palling around with" was someone who came to prominence because of his family links to Boris Yeltsin and as a result of the "Aluminium Wars", where rival aluminium magnates were bumped off in a 1930's style gangster film, leaving just a handful of people left to take control.

Whatever the accusation against Mandelson and Osborne, the biggest question ought to be what on earth were they doing having repeated meetings with a Russian Oligarch with, lets put it nice, an interesting history.

I always say that you can judge a person by the company they keep.

2 comments:

StuartR said...

The trouble seems to be is that most political parties seem to find it acceptable to hang around with and solicite donations or favours from people who have a dubious background. Quite why the Tories would even contemplate meetings with Russians knowing that that could not legally accept a donation seems nonsensical.

The fact that none of our major parties manager to handle parties finances without resorting to underhand and dubious donations simply serves to highlight why reform of this area is long overdue.

James Schneider said...

My thoughts precisely Nich

http://schneiderhome.blogspot.com/2008/10/george-osborne-and-aluminium-oligarch.html

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