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Friendly Fire

Cicero does not usually believe in attacking people on his own side. There are very few Lib Dems with whom I have very many profound disagreements. However there is one figure in the party who I am beginning to use as a lodestone:

if he opposes something, it is usually right, if he supports it, it is usually wrong.

It is not only that his opinions tend not to be in accordance with mine, it is also that he usually expresses his views with a degree of intemperance which compounds whichever error he wishes to make.

The latest passionate but mis-aimed missive was a letter in the Independent this morning.

Whatever opinion you have of the State of Israel, signing off with the intemperate lines :"We can hope for a time when Israeli and Palestinian states co-exist peacefully, but for the present, Israel should be regarded as a pariah state practising the same racist policies white South Africa had" is not going to get you much of an audience on the Israeli side.

Step forward Chris Davies MEP- I wish to disassociate myself from virtually all of your recent public comments. I am not surprised that you were forced to step down as leader of the UK Lib Dems in the European Parliament. I also beleive that you may wish to consider your position still further.
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Anonymous said…
Cicero,

On the Sunday Times story. They claimed it had been abandoned but it had been policy. If that was not the case I think the Estonians really must demand a retraction. This is not a good thing. I would be surprised if it was asI can think of few better ways to bind different groups together than to have them cheering the same team. The iconic image of Nelson Mandela in a Springbok jersey proves that completely.


Lepidus.
7:51 pm
Iain Rubie Dale said…
Chris is most certainly not my cup of tea either. I shall NEVER ever forgive him for his comment that Charles was the "best known drunk in Britain" and for several other things which he has done. It is good that he is no longer our LDEPP Leader. Indeed, it was astonishingly arrogant, in my opinion, for him to stand again when Diana stood down on becoming a Vice President of the Parliament and I was delighted when he lost by 8 votes to 4.

However, I, sadly, find myself in agreement with his views on the state of Israel. A country which, in my teens I greatly admired, has to my perspective become a very, very unsavoury state and seemingly an intolerant society.

I believe that Israel has a right to a peaceful exsistance as a fully functional stable, safe & secure society. I equally believe that Palestine has those same rights and feel that the state of Israel is simply not allowing Palestine those rights. Quite frankly, I believe that it's time for a UN Peace Keeping intervention but am realistic enough to know that is highly unlikely when the USA and Israel have their very own, "special relationship".
12:27 am
Anonymous said…
Cicero,


Have you read Kaletsky's piece. A thoughtful piece. Merits a thoughtful response from you. Not a fisk I feel.

Lepidus
1:28 pm
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