Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/556862
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 AUGUST 2015 24 I t's always the same: just when you think politics couldn't possibly be more boring than it is today, something happens that turns everything on its head. Look at the ongoing Labour Party leadership debate in the UK, for instance. I caught the first few episodes by chance, and – initially, at any rate – it was the closest thing I'd ever experienced to a group therapy session in a ward full of acute depressives. Doom and gloom was so palpable you could almost reach out and touch it, like a thick dusty curtain coming down on a tale of woe and despair. There wasn't even any talk of electing a possible future Prime Minister, or anything even half as hopeful. Labour supporters seemed resigned to an inevitable lifetime in opposition, and as for the candidates, I almost mistook them for a bunch of shipwreck survivors on a life-raft, drawing the short straw to decide who among them would be eaten by the others first. Then, something curious happened. With the entry of a single candidate – Jeremy Corbyn – the entire f lavour of the contest suddenly changed. True, there is still no talk of electing a future prime minister… but the Labour Party's youth membership has since surged by over 50,000, and by all accounts Corbyn's entry has energised the campaign beyond all previous expectation. Not, it must be said, that the renewed interest is always of a positive kind. Most of the public reactions have in fact been varying degrees of shock, horror and apocalyptic foreboding. A Corbyn victory, we were told, would precipitate a full-scale backbench revolt 'from day one'; it would 'annihilate' the Labour Party, and render it unelectable for the next four millennia. Even left-wing newspapers such as the Guardian have joined the chorus calling for "anyone but Corbyn". But to be fair, that only happened after polls indicated that this 'terrif ying' candidate would attract an astonishing 53% of the vote in a four-way contest… leaving the other, more 'credible' rivals trailing far, far in the distance. Corbyn's lead is already so extensive that British bookies are almost calling it a foregone conclusion. And I say 'almost', only because it has been accompanied by an unprecedented drive to alter the course of destiny, and somehow prevent this calamity at all costs. Yet initial indications are that his support levels have only grown since then. Rather than put the brakes on this runaway lead, the concerted and increasingly hysterical attacks on Jeremy Corbyn appear to have actually bolstered his support. Personally, I can't say I'm particularly surprised: either by the panic he has so clearly instilled in his political adversaries (all, it seems, on his own 'side'); or by the enthusiasm he has clearly inspired among young Labour supporters. You don't even need to go into his policies – though I will, in a sec – to understand this phenomenon. All you have to do is look at him. Look at him closely. Who does he remind you of? OK, I'll give you a hint: place that scrawny, grey-bearded figure in a brown hooded cape, give him a light-sabre and make him say (in his own voice): "These are not the droids you are looking for…" And there you have it. Of course his political rivals would be defecating in their undergarments at the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn winning the Labour leadership race. He looks exactly like Obi Wan Kenobi from 'Star Wars: A New Hope'. [Note: I specif y the film not just out of incurable pretentious geekiness, but also to distinguish between Sir Alec Guinness and Ewan MacGregor in the same role]. And he sounds like Obi wan Kenobi, too. Consider his reaction to the recent blistering attack by former Prime Minister Tony Blair… who predicted that "if Jeremy Corbyn becomes leader it won't be a defeat like 1983 or 2015 at the next election. It will mean rout, possibly annihilation..." Corbyn's response? "Tony Blair… Tony Blair… Now that's a name I've not heard in a lo-o-o- ong time…" So yes, I can fully understand the sensation of panic at the sudden appearance of a retired Jedi Master in the race. This is in fact where comparison to 'Star Wars' becomes unavoidable: like a tractor beam drawing you inexorably towards that 'small moon' in the distance. If Corbyn looks and sounds like Obi wan Kenobi, the reaction to his candidature has been identical to the Empire's reaction to Luke Skywalker in the same film. You can almost hear the creaking voice of Emperor Palpatine as he solemnly intones: "There is a great disturbance in the Force. We have a new enemy... The torch-bearer of Old Labour must NOT become party leader. He could destroy us…" The only variation from the script concerns Darth Vader's classic line, 'He will join us or die'. Not much chance of turning Jeremy Corbyn to the Dark Side, as I suspect the Empire knows only too well. And this makes sense, when you consider that the 'enemy', in this scenario, is not a young, susceptible Paduan Opinion Raphael Vassallo 'The Force is strong in this one…' Left-wing backbencher Jeremy Corbyn is widely tipped to become British Labour's new leader, but critics say he will lose 'Middle England' and make Labour unelectable