David Miliband- For Italian Fascists Before He Was Against Them

David Miliband has resigned from the board of Sunderland football club because they have appointed a self proclaimed fascist as their manager. Paolo Di Canio's politics are repulsive but sympathy for fascist politics is not that unusual in Italy.

Most of them see a difference between fascism and the murderous policies pursed while in alliance with Nazi Germany. Wrongly in my view, but enough Italians agree for the descendants of Mussolini's party to have been a viable party until they merged with Berlusconi's lot.

David Miliband, when he was foreign secretary, denounced the Conservative Party for leaving the European grouping that included Italy's fascists. Unlike Sunderland FC, European political groupings have real influence on political debate.

No Eds Are Better Than One

Now tha David Miliband appears likely to quit politics the undoubted front runner for the post of Shadow Chancellor is Ed Balls. He has shown himself to be a surprisingly effective communicator and would undoubtedly be better than any alternative candidate at harrying the government.

There is one small flaw with his candidacy- his position on the economy is that the coalition policies are doomed and we shouldn't stop spending until some unspecified time in the future. If he turns out to be wrong, as I suspect he will be, then Labour will find themselves in an untenable position and will all too easily be painted as an unreformed tax and spend party still addicted to Brownenomics. Even if he turns out to be right the government will get the blame for any double dip anyway, regardless of whether Labour supported the policies (look at how Labour emerged unscathed by Black Wednesday).

Labour chose the wrong leader on Saturday but that mistake would be less serious than appointing the wrong Shadow Chancellor and therefore the wrong policies in the current climate. It would be a tactical masterpiece and a strategic disaster.

The Famous Mr Ed.

It's too early to say what effect the election of Ed Miliband to Labour leader will have. During the campaign he seemed the less likely of the two brothers to take Labour back to the centre ground and a bit too willing to tell people what they wanted to hear. Labour members seem to believe he is less likely to win the election than Bananaman, which is perhaps why they voted for David. In the short term he will certainly get a boost in the polls and Labour should be ahead in the polls by next week but unless he changes tack and starts adopting a more moderate tone, in defiance of what his party wants, then he will never be prime minister.

Labour Leadership

Who I want to win: Ed Balls, a divisive figure who will keep Labour on the margins.

Who should win: David Miliband, he's a bit weird and has a habit of speaking in meaningless generalities but he seems determined to fight on the centre ground rather than appealing to the base.

Who will win: Ed Miliband, he will hoover up the second preferences from any other candidate.

Who should have stood: Alastair Darling, he is a much more substantive figure than any of the candidates. The economic woes were largely the result of his predecessor as Chancellor and he appears to be an honourable individual (resisted pressure from Brown & Balls to cook the books according to Mandleson's memoirs) apart from a bit of flipping.

Give David Miliband A Hand

When a YouTube video is embedded on a site then a still image captured from the video appears before you press play. It's unfortunate that the still image of David Miliband in his official campaign launch video makes it seem as though he is indicating that he is a wanker.



In fairness he is at least more realistic about the scale of Labour's defeat than his rivals.

Quote Of The Day

On the subject of the newly emerged opposition of Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and Ed 209 to the Iraq war, Nick M makes a good point:

Ed Milliband is on the other hand so much the true believer and people’s commissar that he believes the most important consequence of a war was its effect on the reputation of the Labour Party.

Profiles In Courage

If you opposed the war in Iraq, what sort of candidate for leader of the Labour Party is preferable- someone who supports the war or someone who didn't believe in it but voted for it anyway but didn't think to mention their opposition until they thought it was beneficial to their careers?

Ed Miliband's Marriage Problem

One thing which I don't think has been mentioned in relation to Ed Miliband's leadership bid is that he isn't married but instead lives with the mother of his son.

In theory his personal life is just that- personal- and his situation is perfectly normal nowadays. Marriage might well important building block of society but each couple have their own reasons for having whatever arrangements they prefer and it would certainly be unedifying if prospective leaders started getting married in order to benefit their prime ministerial aspirations.

However given the focus on the leaders' wives during the election it is unrealistic to expect his private life to remain off limits. Back in 2000 there was a leaked memo from Tony Blair in which the former PM expressed his astonishment that he could be viewed as hostile to marriage:

It is bizarre that any government I lead should be seen as anti-family.

In other words he grasped that people view the party's committment to family issues through the private lives of their leaders. It is unfair but there you go. Whilst Ed Miliband's situation is really quite common I suspect that if the subject of marriage comes up- for example when the tax system is adjusted to take account of it- any criticism that he makes will be seen as an attack on traditional values and the institution of marriage itself.

Who Pays The Piper

Curious isn't it, David Milband has adopted a highly critical approach to Russia during his tenure as Foreign Secretary (rightly so in my opinion) and yet soon after his name starts being touted for the role of EU foreign minister he does a 180 degree u-turn, decides that murder by nuclear terrorism on the streets of London is no biggie and that the Merkel-Sarkozy appeasement approach is much better.

What To Do With A Miliband?

Bearded europhile Timothy Garton Ash backs David Miliband to be the EU's new High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy aka the EU Foreign Minister on the grounds that Milipede has:

just delivered one of the most eloquent, forceful arguments for a European foreign policy I have read in a long time.

Meanwhile unbearded eurosceptic Irwin Stelzer backs David Miliband to be the EU's new High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy aka the EU Foreign Minister on the grounds that:

the force of the [Lisbon} treaty will depend on the quality of the key appointees, we should all be pleased if he does get the post.

Stelzer seems more convincing but wonder whether David Miliband's abilities would be better utilised leading the Labour Party after the next election.

Miliband Balls It Up.

After Ed Balls pledged to deal with the BNP members becoming teachers David Miliband helpfully shows why it is a bad idea, beyond the simple civil liberties issue.

Even if a ban on members of racist and neo-nazi organisations like the BNP was desirable, who could trust the government to apply it honestly when people like David Miliband are sufficiently unscrupulous to smear any opponents as racists and neo-nazis?

Incidentally does Balls know how many BNP members are currently teaching and whether they have brought their racial attitudes into their job? It certainly doesn't seem to be a particularly pressing problem though I stand to be corrected.