Gordon finally said sorry. He even said he took full responsibility.
An apology seems to be the unfashionable thing amongst the old guard of politicians. There are words that beat around the bush: “I express regret/disappointment/etc”, but when it comes to politicians who have been around for quite a while, sorry really does seem to be the hardest word.
Well, it would appear that it’s probably the most politically apt word. David “call-me-Dave” Cameron has used it to his political advantage on many occasions. When something embarrassing happened in the Tory party regarding snouts-in-the-trough financial corruption (and let’s face it, the majority of these cases after Cameron said we needed to get rid of that sort of thing have been with Tory MPs) Cameron immediately leaps in and is relentless at condemning it. He knows, as others (including Gordon it seems) are coming to realise, is that in this day and age of hatred towards politicians from the public, you have more to gain by saying sorry than you have to lose.
It’s just a same that often (and I’m saying this of some members of all political parties), it takes the motivation of political gain in order to say sorry, rather than genuine regret. Like the word ‘promise’, sorry will simply be added to the list of hollow sayings that mean little but are said lots.
P.S. Very good article on ToryBear showing Draper doing a runner with his computer. What’s that New Labour saying?… nothing to hide, nothing to fear?
