telegraph | Tony Blair has revealed he is mystified by Russell Brand.
The former Prime Minister said he has “studied” the works of Brand, the
comedian turned popular philosopher, and concluded he “literally doesn’t
know what he means”.
Mr Blair, Labour’s most electorally successful leader, said modern politicians
should spend less time attempting to “empathise” with voters who are
disaffected and instead show strong leadership.
“I’ve studied a lot of what the Russell Brand stuff really means. But I
suspect if you implemented that, or tried to implement that, I literally
don’t know what it means,” Mr Blair told the BBC’s Nick Robinson, whose
latest series looks at a “crisis” in democracy.
Mr Brand, a multi-millionaire comedian, has sought to reinvent himself as the
leader of a populist, anti-capitalist “revolution” against a broken “system”
of tax evasion, environmental destruction and poverty. Critics argue Mr
Brand’s manifesto is intellectually arid and devoid of meaningful policies.
None the less, he has struck a chord with the public, earning nine million
Twitter followers and a wide audience for his internet television show.
He has refused to stand for election in case he becomes “one of them”. He fled
from Mr Robinson as he attempted to interview him.
Mr Blair said MPs should not think that changing the process of democracy,
such as introducing internet voting, will address public cynicism towards
Westminster.
“There is a whole swathe of the country that thinks, I elect my government,
you guys go and govern. Don’t keep troubling me every three seconds with
what I should think or shouldn’t think; they want to see their leaders
leading.”
