Dimblespeak

Someone who shares my dress sense

On this week's Any Questions Jonathan Dimbleby appeared to be channelling the spirit of Mark Mardell, whilst simultaneously 'echoing' the list of BBC targets some of you were posting about on an earlier thread.

The question from the audience was:

When Pontius Pilate was faced with the problem of Jesus he called an instant referendum. How far is populism a help or a danger to democracy?

Jonathan duly 'translated' that into Dimblespeak for the listening audience:

Populism is on the rise, discernibly on the rise in most people's judgement, not only in Britain but also in the United States, in Europe, Hungary, Poland, Germany, and elsewhere. In general terms rather than going into referenda issues specifically perhaps, how far is populism a help or a danger to democracy?

And here's one of his (somewhat-sycophantic-sounding) questions to Stephen Kinnock (son of Neil), where his 'echoing' of Mark Mardell was at its clearest: 

If you could go back, Stephen...You spent a lot of time in Europe. You touched on one or two European leaders...and you will remember, with a sense of history, the rise of populisms - not least in Germany after the First World War, which led to - through populism,  and a referendum incidentally - to the rise of Hitler. So in answer to the question broadly, if you can briefly, is populism a help or a danger to democracy? You did a very interesting elucidation, but do you regard it as a threat or a promise?

Though I believe he's still alive Godwin will be turning in his grave today.