Yesterday we had the Leader of the Opposition admitting he forgot the deficit and immigration, the two biggest political hot potatoes, in his speech. Today we have the Prime Minister apologising to the Queen for making small talk of her private phone conversation with him, while in range of a sound system. This conveys a rather amateurish impression at variance with the British tradition of wise statesmanship and steady hands at the top. But then we have also had Prince Charles comparing Putin to Hitler and the famous case of ‘the bigoted woman’ who ensnared Gordon Brown in 2010.
We could say this tells us something about carelessness. Or we could say it tells us something about cynicism at the top. Or it could tell us nothing, but instead pose a question. It is this. Are the protocols by which we conduct our public life still appropriate in an open democracy in the twenty-first century in the midst of a communications revolution, which means all the people are in touch with everything all the time and relaying the realities of news to each other, bypassing every formal and official channel?
The answer is clearly NO, and has been so for quite some time.