Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Still baffled as to why Sunak bunked off. Even Farage, characteristically wasting no time to put the boot in, is right on this one.

We saw the same arrogance from Cameron snubbing his Albanian hosts when the election called. But he’s a very important man unlike the simple peasants in the Balkans.

Few veterans, if any, will around for the 90th, by the 100th there will be none.
It's an opportunity to be statesmanlike, rubbing shoulders with world leaders and Royalty and more people will watch the D-Day commemorations than the G7 conference. Politically D-Day is an easy, uncontroversial event - very few of the UK electorate will see the defeat of the Third Reich as a bad thing - whereas the G7 contains many potential pitfalls and may attract negative publicity for him.
It's not an easy thing to screw up, but he managed it.
Sunak's really not very good at this, is he?

Seems a very odd decision by Sunak. One of the few cards he has is that he's the Prime Minister and it's easy to look Prime Ministerial if you are.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 5:48 pm Seems a very odd decision by Sunak. One of the few cards he has is that he's the Prime Minister and it's easy to look Prime Ministerial if you are.

Sunak knows there won't be positive photos of him cosying up to international leaders.
They know he's on the way out.

If Sunak stays, he risks being pictured with smaller crowds than his successor Starmer.
That's worse optics than getting soaked in Drowning Street or flying the union flag inverted.

I'd not be surprised if there was a convention saying that party leaders kept clear of each other during the campaign period. Not quite the American "president and VP can never travel together" rule, but certainly would make security easier.

Just saw Newsnight. Tim Montgomerie of all people, was gobsmacked.


This is surely another (FUCKING BIG) nail in Sunak's coffin.

Abernathy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 11:14 pm Just saw Newsnight. Tim Montgomerie of all people, was gobsmacked.


This is surely another (FUCKING BIG) nail in Sunak's coffin.

Maybe today (of all commemoration days) somebody ought to tell him.

Calling yourself Montie smacks of WW2 walting.

Bones McCoy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2024 11:33 pm

Mailwatchers might be interested to know that one of the singers on that record is Tim Healey, son of Denis, a stalwart of Oxford folk club when I was a member 35 years ago. A good bloke.

According to Paul Brand, ITN contacted Downing Street to check Sunak's availability for interview and they offered up the afternoon of 6th of June as a time when he was free. Apparently nobody suggested to him that was a bad look.

I didn't know the band had a celeb-adjacent performer.

I just picked a version that featured the "other ranks" lyrics in.

Music by Norbert Schultze, originally Lili Marleen (Das Lied eines jungen Soldaten auf der Wacht).

Our message to Sunak.

Sunak knows there won't be positive photos of him cosying up to international leaders.
They know he's on the way out.

If Sunak stays, he risks being pictured with smaller crowds than his successor Starmer.
That's worse optics than getting soaked in Drowning Street or flying the union flag inverted.

Flying home early to lie about lying suggests this is a man who still wants to fight but makes all the wrong moves.

That D Day dodgers song is an unfortunate side effect of a national media policy to only print upbeat news. The Italian campaign was an horrendous struggle.

A man who’s making a massive issue in his campaign about how the world’s a dangerous place, ducks out of commemoration to those who died to stop the world becoming dangerous. I rest my case

Youngian wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 7:12 am
That D Day dodgers song is an unfortunate side effect of a national media policy to only print upbeat news. The Italian campaign was an horrendous struggle.

True - for years the message about the Italians had been that they were cowards, backstabbers, couldn't put up a decent fight, had to be bailed out by the Nazis etc. Up to a point.

Sicily was easier than expected (thanks, dead tramp man!), but Anzio was a shock, and Monte Cassino was pure meat grinder. The Germans and Musso diehards in Salo were no easy pushover by any means.

EDIT: It's been a while since I've posted here, is there a trick to embedding Tweets or has Musk's mierdas touch ruined that forever?

Andy McDandy wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 8:48 am

Youngian wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 7:12 am
That D Day dodgers song is an unfortunate side effect of a national media policy to only print upbeat news. The Italian campaign was an horrendous struggle.

True - for years the message about the Italians had been that they were cowards, backstabbers, couldn't put up a decent fight, had to be bailed out by the Nazis etc. Up to a point.

Sicily was easier than expected (thanks, dead tramp man!), but Anzio was a shock, and Monte Cassino was pure meat grinder. The Germans and Musso diehards in Salo were no easy pushover by any means.

I lived next door to an Eighth Army veteran when I was a teenager - I had no idea until I had a GCSE assignment to talk to a war veteran, and my Grandad declined to get involved.

It turned out that my neighbour had been at both Monte Cassino and Anzio, and still had the shrapnel in his leg to prove it.

I learned a lot about the Italian and African campaigns that afternoon. Fascinating chap.

Sunak must have discussed his plans with Cameron who was standing on for him. “You go back early and fight the fight, Rish. I’ll hold the fort here.”

Nigredo wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 9:26 am https://x.com/AdamBienkov/status/179898 ... 87h4w&s=19

EDIT: It's been a while since I've posted here, is there a trick to embedding Tweets or has Musk's mierdas touch ruined that forever?

Edit the link to change “x” to “twitter” and it works fine!

It does seem especially dumb for a man fighting Reform on his right flank. If he was in good odour with the ladies and gentleman of the press it might be smoothed over - see the BBC’s convenient substitution of Boris Johnson’s 2016 Cenotaph wreath-laying with his 2019 screw up, back before his own poll ratings went irretrievably to shit - but the tories are cruising for a bruising as it is. Hard to think it could get much worse, but I suppose we’ll see.