solar king

Phil goes in search of his youth, and ours:

the contrast between politics and showbusiness is telling: Des Lynam is practically Ming’s contemporary, but he looks twenty years younger. British politicians seem to have got the worst of both worlds: not only has the tyranny of youth and beauty has deprived us of ordinary-looking middle-aged hacks like Wilson or Callaghan; older politicians aren’t allowed to fake it by pretending they’ve kept their looks or even to grow old gracefully (what’s known as the Blake Carrington Get-Out). If you’re over 60 you’re old, and if you’re old you’re ridiculous.

I’m not so convinced that it’s youth that’s the issue here. It’s more the cult of dynamism, and it goes along with the settled policy that governing is about permanent change.

It’s all oddly pagan. There’s a strange air of classical Greek pederasty in the way that middle aged hacks slaver over youth and beauty in politics. And youth and beauty are always seen as going together. Blair always looked like a dirty vicar about to get exposed in the News of the World and Cameron’s face brings to mind a big sweaty cheese, but both are marketed as though they’re drop dead gorgeous – as they must be, for they represent the hope of the harvest.

Also interesting is how Cameron’s making himself out to be a solar king – “let the sun shine in”, indeed. As the nights grow cold, the crops wither in the fields and darkness spreads, we look unto the comely Dave as our new hope for renewed warmth, mellow fruitfulness and great big melons. If we elected Ming Campbell, on the other hand, eternal night would follow and we’d risk getting dragged off into the crepuscular and demon haunted realms of Dis by three headed dogs. It’s all about change and renewal, you see.

In mythology the rule of the solar king ends with his sacrifice. According to the Golden Bough, solar kings got round this by having a substitute appointed for them as the day of sacrifice approached. When the substitute was duly dispatched, they would resume their rule.

This maps fairly well on to the current scenario. Blair steps down and a substitute solar king is appointed probably in the person of Gordon Brown. He is duly sacrificed in an electoral ritual to be replaced by Dave C, the reincarnated solar king.

In Celtic mythology, incidentally, the solar king was sacrificed at the ceremony of Lughdnassadh, which took place in early August. Interesting then that Blair apparently intends to hang around till next summer.

Comments

[Alex]

Does that mean we get to burn the bastard in a wicker man? With Britt Ekland?

[Charlie Whitaker]

... having first arranged things so that putting on the fool's costume seems like a good idea.

Top post.

[Adam Elkus]

I remember when Blair came to power he seemed almost desperate to exude youth. The "cool Britannia" campaign is a great example. Yet after he started parroting Bush's two-cent imitation Churchillisms about the "Islamo-fascists," Blair seems less like a young gun than a stern and senile old man. Yet no matter how much support he's lost, his ideas will live on in the form of the Euston fellows.

[Tom]

Great post. Somenow I can't see a 'Status Quo' party led by escapees from an Old Folks' Home being too successful, though.

[Antipholus Papps]

What a fantastic post! And the most succinct appraisal of our corrupted political system I've read in some time.