Chancellors undergo numerous trials: George Osborne must know this only too well as he looks back upon his latest budget. To have witnessed him once more shaking and sweating as he went through the ins and outs of his fiscal plan, still fumbling uncertainly despite his now greater depth of experience, one could almost forget that this was the same man who had imposed such cruel cuts and restraints upon our whimpering economy.
Having oiled and massaged figures, leaving us quivering in anticipation of held-back spends, he ended with the climactic blessing of relief on intoxication. And yet, somehow, I can’t help but feel that it was us who were getting shafted…
Take heed, Mr Chancellor, the message in your own initials… GO!
And not only in the UK – this malady has infected politicians everywhere … people like Orwell and Huxley can now be called prophets – and Chomsky the voice who cries in the US desert…