Monday, February 20, 2006

The pitfalls of being a political spouse

Having had the 'pleasure' of being a political spouse in the past (my ex-wife is a former Chair of Democrats Abroad and was at one time a member of the Democratic National Committee), I am perhaps more sympathetic with the predicament that David Mills finds himself in than most others might be.

As Chair of Dulwich and West Norwood Liberal Democrats, I might be expected to draw some small amount of pleasure from the embarrassment he has brought upon his wife, Tessa Jowell MP. Yet I find myself feeling a little sorry for her, as some of the press have taken the opportunity to delve into their past (sorry, I'm not including a link to the articles...), despite its irrelevancy to the subject matter.

On the other hand, regardless of the legality of his actions, one can't help but think that his activities on behalf of Silvio Berlusconi leave him looking ethically challenged. Engineering the financial affairs of an extraordinarily rich and powerful individual to minimise his tax liabilities never looks particularly good and, particularly when said individual is head of a national government, tends to indicate a certain contempt for ordinary, tax-paying, citizens.

I'm not sure what Gordon Brown's private thoughts on the matter are, although I guess that they might be interesting but, as a 'senior Labour figure', David might be advised to keep his head down for a while...

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