There was a strange opening line of questioning from Andrew Marr to Sadiq Khan this morning:
Welcome, Sadiq Khan. Congratulations on your victory. As you were going through that campaign did it feel to you like it was a racist campaign directed at you?
Did you think it was racist?
Did you feel that in effect they were saying, Sadiq Khan is a Muslim and therefore we can’t trust him with Londoner’s safety?
And, strangest of all, this apparently spontaneous question from the BBC man:
The Labour Party’s now got an inquiry into anti-Semitism inside the party which I think you felt damaged your campaign to certain extent in the final stages. My question is, do you think the Conservatives now have a question to answer? Do you think they ought to be investigating racism in the Conservative Party?
Sadiq hadn't suggested such a thing himself, so why did Andrew Marr choose to put that (helpful) question to Mayor Khan?
Andy's next question was:
London is probably the world’s greatest melting pot experiment in terms of whether people of very conservative religious views can live alongside people of very liberal, nonreligious views. How are you going to kind of steer this city in that regard over the next four years?
And that really was as tough as it got.
The rest of AM's questioning of SK focused relentlessly on the 'Jeremy Corbyn v Sadiq Khan' thing.
The whole interview was uncanny in its echoing of the BBC's other reporting in the past day or so - a mix of positive stuff about Sadiq Khan being elected, attacks on the 'racist' Tory campaign and attacks on JezWeCan.
You might possibly say: Agenda? What agenda?
I thought Andrew Marr gave Sadiq Khan a guiding hand towards coming across rather well.
ReplyDeleteI wish he didn’t gabble so fast - he talks in text - but I think we’ll have to take him at face value until he proves, I don’t know, anything at all.
One concern is whether his optimistic aspirations re housing and “transp’t” are deliverable. We don’t want to see another Nick Glegg scenario. Promises promises; but I suppose Londoners won’t let a small thing like undeliverability deflate the euphoria of electing London’s First Muslim Mayor.
People keep reminding us about what they’ve been doing their ‘whole life’ i.e., “Fighting Racism” and/or: “Fighting extremism” (In some cases it would be more accurate put slightly differently, say, “fighting alongside racists” or even “fighting for extremists”)
In Sadiq’s case, maybe he’s forgotten his spell as legal consultant to Islamist extremists, but if he genuinely wants to put all that behind him so much the better.
However, apart from that he made a convincing show of being everyone’s Mayor, so we’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.
I thought Sadiq Khan came across rather well too. He said all the right things. Time to 'live in hope' perhaps (while remaining constantly vigilant).
DeleteWe don't know what's in his heart. We can only go by his actions: campaigning for an Islamic terror suspect who subsequently pleaded to a charge of supporting Islamic terror; aggressive promotion of human rights ideology to prevent us from doing sensible things like deporting people who mean to do us harm; referring to Muslim moderates as "Uncle Toms"; appearing frequently on channels like Iran-funded Press TV; and failing to condemn his brother in law's involvement with Al Mujaharoun.
DeleteIt would be a very risky thing to take his statements at face value - especially when he is gifted such an easy ride by the useless Marr.
There is a real danger at this rate that he could at some point end up the "moderate" leader of a renewed Labour Party.
I don't actually think that will happen - because I don't think he's actually that bright but it could happen and then you might found out exactly what he believes and what he is striving to achieve.
Whatever he really believes, Khan will be under enormous pressure not to give way to lunacy. If there's any hint of a rise in Islamist BS, or trouble for Jews, it will damage Labour, not to mention his own future in politics. I think he ran for mayor only because he saw no prospect for immediate advancement under Corbyn.
DeleteSo I expect he will make sure people behave themselves.
Islam isn't a race.
ReplyDeleteLondon is probably the world’s greatest melting pot experiment....
What a giveaway. The subjects weren't told beforehand, unfortunately.