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Outside British politics is a jungle. You never know when someone you just fired will turn around and tell you that. she regrets saying thatyou are actually a coward and failure who betrayed the nation and suffers from “magical thinking”.
But it seems not everyone cares about the jungle. Some politicians even willingly and knowingly go into the jungle. Yes, I am indeed talking about Brexit Party leader turned TV news presenter Nigel Farage. He joined Britney Spears' sister Jamie Lynn and others in Australia on Sunday for the start of the 23rd series. I'm a celebrity. . . Please get me out of here!
Farage, who is rumored to be earning a sickening record-breaking fee of £1.5 million, confirmed his appearance on: video In a social media post, he pretended to receive a phone call from the show's producers, told them the timing was bad, and then said: Good Lord! See you in the jungle! ”
At least he's honest. When Tory MP and former Health Secretary Matt Hancock appeared on the show last year, poor guy, he was paid less than a quarter of Mr Farage's fee – he said: “My campaign to help dyslexics.'' This is to raise the profile of the company.'' Every dyslexic child unlocks their potential,” he said, adding that he plans to make various donations to charities. Hancock ended up donating about 3 percent of his income, but when asked about it later he said: I mainly did this to show my true self. ”
In fact, Mr Farage is the eighth politician to enter the jungle for the programme. After all, we live in an era where public life is steeped in celebrity culture and the lines between entertainment and politics are increasingly blurred.That's not all i'm a celebrity It can offer a chance to make big bucks while reinventing yourself as an ordinary man or woman. If you don't want to chew on a kangaroo's testicles on live TV, you can always dress up as a Spice Girl. Strictlyget a featured spot on GB News or, if all else fails, start your own podcast.
But while the path from politician to Z-list celebrity is becoming more widespread in the UK, it tends to work in the opposite direction in the US. There, it's not the politicians who are trying desperately to be famous, but the celebrities who are trying desperately to be politicians.Where is Donald Trump from? apprentice To the White House. Arnold Schwarzenegger is terminator To the California State Capitol. Rapper Kanye West, Olympian-turned-reality star Caitlyn Jenner and actor Cynthia Nixon have all made unsuccessful attempts to enter politics in recent years. Part of the cause of both phenomena must lie in our performative, media-obsessed culture.
The path from congressman to public office has been established in America for decades. Ronald Reagan was an actor before becoming governor of California and eventually president of the United States. Five-time Oscar winner Clint Eastwood served as the mayor of a California town for several years, but his popularity has grown even more in recent years.
So why does it behave differently on both sides of the Atlantic? One reason is that presidential systems tend to lead to cults of personality. This is not only the case in the United States, but also in Ukraine, where a former comedian is currently the president, and Guatemala, where another comedian was president until 2020.
John Street, professor of political science at the University of East Anglia, told me that Britain has a stronger party system. “Representatives of that party have to be elected, they have to show loyalty to the party, they have to be disciplined by the party,” Street said. “The relative weakness of the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States allows politicians to be more assertive and adopt strategies that are only vaguely related to the ideology of any party.”
One need only look at how leaders and politicians are portrayed culturally to find another obvious reason. Meanwhile, Brits laugh at clumsy and clumsy politicians on TV comedies. the thickness of it and Yes, Minister, The depiction of American politics oozes glitz and glamor. Remember the movie Presidential Heroes? west wing or Air Force One.
Here's a test. Do you know the name of the plane the British Prime Minister is on? Probably not. (Usually, it's the Royal Air Force's Voyager, which is shared with the Royal Family.) Air Force One, on the other hand, is arguably one of the best brand names on the planet, and is Nike's most popular sneaker of all time. inspiration and brings to mind images of Air Force One. His powerful and prestigious POTUS (also a great brand name).
A 2006 Gallup poll found that of the G7 countries, the United Kingdom and the United States had the highest levels of trust in their governments. By 2022, it will be the lowest. I don't know which type of “celebrityization” is bad. But I believe both show how corrupt and downright unserious politics has become.
jemima.kelly@ft.com
