Grace and favour
Petronella Wyatt
The Prime Minister may be accused of many things. Mistakes in some people’s eyes, lies or ‘crimes’ in others. But the latest thing of which Mr Blair stands accused is of such enormity that it merited a page in the newspapers. Mr Blair said during an appearance on a Channel 4 youth programme that his favourite film star was Grace Kelly.
Oh, my God, Grace Kelly. Surely an impeachable offence. As one paper put it (as if Mr Blair were on trial as a war criminal with a selective memory):
He failed to explain how he came to choose someone who gave up acting to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956 — when Mr Blair was just two.
The inference is that Mr Blair is telling porkies with wings on again.
Yet where is the logic in all this? If your favourite writer is Milton, or Trollope, or Austen, do you have to explain why you choose someone who gave up writing before you were born? Of course not. That would sound silly. So why isn’t Mr Blair allowed to admire Grace Kelly? For the record, my favourite film stars are all dead (Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Ava Gardner) and I’ve no intention of explaining myself.
Perhaps Mr Blair’s crime was to make his confession on a ‘yoof’ show. Clearly, he should have said Natalie Portman, or Leonardo diCaprio. (Even Nicole Kidman would have been deemed too old.) If so, the Premier showed bravery beyond the call of duty. He so easily could have named some transient starlet who pops out of her dress at premières, but instead he showed surprising taste. He positively lit a fire in my heart.
In any case, Kelly’s films are frequently shown on television and most are on video and DVD. If the under-thirties (especially the males) haven’t heard of her or don’t see her point, it’s their own fault. Believe me, you won’t, today, see a scarier film than Rear Window, or a more sexually charged one.
But let us leave that aside. Mr Blair’s real mistake was to appear on the programme in the first place. He should have stayed at home with Cherie and had a decent home-cooked meal instead. It is always fatal for a politician to be seen going after the youth vote. Whoever said don’t act with children or animals should have amended it to, don’t seek the political support of the under-25s.
Firstly, there is absolutely nothing to be gained in terms of votes. Youth is the only time when your politics are rigid and crystallised. Some of this is to do with being modish and the rest is to do with generally misplaced ideas about doing good for the world. As the phrase goes, if you’re not a socialist at 20 you have no heart, and if you’re not a Conservative at 40 you have no brain.
The young will generally vote for the most left-wing party on offer — probably today that means the Lib Dems. But if they still support Labour, even in its new incarnation, Mr Blair already has their vote. The young are not floating voters. If you put them in a pool they would sink like stones.
Also, as is their nature, the young regard anyone over 30 as intrinsically ridiculous. If Mr Blair had said his favourite film star was Halle Berry or Jennifer Lopez, he would have been despised for it. Then the papers would have said he was shamelessly currying support by parading his knowledge of popular culture.
Mr Blair, don’t go there any more. Don’t go near anyone who isn’t reasonably close to being middle-aged. It is as foolish as courting luvvies and rock stars. Look what happened to Neil Kinnock. As luvvies and rock stars count as under 30 emotionally, it comes down to the same thing. Of course, the Tories make the same mistake with ‘stars’. All the celebs who are willing to appear at Tory events — Joan Collins and Jim Davidson — are Tory anyway. Now we have Marco Pierre White. Gosh, how hard it must have been to convert that millionaire entrepreneur! What a coup!
And what a waste of time. For it impresses no one, and influences no one’s politics. Mr Blair, go on saying your favourite movie star is Grace Kelly, but please don’t go on any more youth programmes.
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