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Originally Posted by theknife
mal, i'm very curious how Galloway is regarded in the UK - i understand he is being investigated. is he as righteously innocent as he sounded in front of Congress or does he have some skeletons in his closet?
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Galloway is regarded as 'old school'. He represents a dying breed in British politics from a time when political discourse was conducted between very opposite ends of the left-right spectrum. He's generally referred to in the British media as a 'firebrand politician'... which is a euphemism for being an angry bigmouth.
He was originally part of the far-left wing of the Labour party and he gradually became more and more isolated during the early Blair-ite years. His libel case with the Telegraph pretty much sealed his party political fate as he was forced/coerced/jumped out of the party. It kinda worked out well for him, giving him the high-profile legal/political platform he relishes - especially when it gives him the opportunity to bash the establishment... to be honest, I'm surprised the Senate dared to accuse him on such flimsy evidence, let alone give him a seat at the table. I think everyone in Britain, having heard he'd be appearing in the Senate, was wryly grinning and having a quiet little laugh to themselves. We all know what George is like and the sort of shit he enjoys to stir up... when I heard he's been offered a hearing, I actually laughed out loud. For some time, I actually entertained the idea that Blair's memo to Bush, reading: "for fuck's sake, don't let him past customs", had got stuck in the fax machine or something.
Actually, by Galloway's standards, he was pretty restrained and almost polite.
He worked his ass off on the anti-war movement and was one of the few politicians to effectively tackle, point-by-point, the reasons for war given by the Bush-Blair coalition.
As for how he's regarded, the right wingers understandably hate him, the anti-war movement types love him and - in my opinion - overlook his shortcomings. As for the far left... well, he
is the far left! Or at least, he's the most vocal member. Personally, having met the man on a number of occasions and spoken to him about the Iraq war, I'm honestly undecided about him. I suspect he's got as many skeletons in his closet as any other politician with an ego, but I don't believe for a second that he was a Hussain asset. Chances are, the then Iraqi administration regarded him as a useful tool (considering he was campaigning for an end to sanctions), but I doubt he was anything more than a passing interest. If you wish to find out more about British politicians and a their genuine support for Hussain, read the related information around the Scott Report.