Greetings from a very wet and cold, but beautiful Stockholm.
Well, the nights are closing in (faster here where it starts getting dark about 3), there are only 54 shopping days to Christmas and only 8 days until we know who will be taking us into 2009 as party President.
Today current party President Simon Hughes made his usual superhuman effort to attend ELDR Congress, having flown over this morning to arrive before 9 and returning this evening. In my time on IRC I have seen him make similar efforts to ensure the party is formally represented both at ELDR and LI congresses. He joined two MEPs but no MPs, a point well observed by Jonathan Fryer.
SImon has taken his term of office extremely seriously. Despite the moans about party membership (an issue I have touched on before and one which we all have a responsibility to own), Simon has, in my view, done a brilliant job. Encouraging the least to the greatest, always giving people time and tirelessly fighting to make our party more representative of the people we seek to represent, calling candidates in by elections to wish them well. No one can and should overlook the importance of those little acts in building and strengthening the party faithful.
So what of Lembit? When he wins next week (and there can be little doubt now that he will), what will he bring to the "party"?
I personally believe he will build successfully on the foundations Simon will leave him. He has the same extraordinary ability to engage with anyone, whether the great and the good, the not quite so great and the not quite so good.......and those who most of us are happier to walk past and ignore. I have seen this in action, out campaigning for Stephen Kearney and out on the streets of London where he dealt with a homeless young woman with such skill and compassion it was an education to observe. That ability to communicate I believe will mean he will be a lynchpin in our future campaigns. He will be the one who "speaks human" who communicates our message in a language those outside our party can understand, who will offer a real prospect of increasing our membership.......a prerequisite to us really "making it happen" and making a reality of our favourite slogan "Winning Here"!!!!!
6 comments:
You are as bonkers as Lembit if you think he'll win next week. His last ditch attempt to appeal to people just makes him look desperate. His hypocrisy and bad judgement are astounding.
The only communicating this toxic idiot does is with half dressed girlies half his age. Not forgetting his barfly "communicating" of course.
Who are you so obsessed with him?? As everyone says, you are making yourself look quite sad and pathetic with your daily defence
of the part-time MP for Montgomeryshire. He's a loser. Get real.
Anonymous - I have been reading some of the comments on Linda's Lembit blogs, and even as a very openly declared Ros supporter, I am still a friend of Lembit's. There is absoloutely no need to be offensive about another party member. Whoever wins next week we all have to work together. So please, get real, and start being a little more gracious.
The more people who tell the truth about Lembit, the better in my opinion.
He has done so much damage to the reputation of the party.
Were he to get in, it would only be a matter of time before the rumours already doing the rounds about him, came out in the papers.
If you were a true friend of Lembit's, then you should encourage him to seek help for his all too obvious problems.
Linda whilst you're clearly a strong supporter of Lembit, you must accept that the vote for Ros Scott will be very strong indeed.?
Whether she has done enough to win Im not sure, but her campaign has been hard fought for considerably longer that Lembit's half hearted late entry to the race, and people seem to be supporting Ros despite her not being as well known within and outside the party as Lembit.
On what basis can you say "there can be little doubt now that he will" win?
You might find yourself a trifle embarrassed if he actually loses badly, unless of course you know something that we don't!
Enjoy Stockholm.
Dear anonomiii (is that the plural?) Firstly, i object to your use of the word "bonkers", at some point I will return to this theme, but you wouldn't dare call myself or Lembit a racist or sexist term, but you are prepared to use a term like bonkers. Hmmmmmmm, not very liberal methinks as is your reference to "half dressed girlies" since when has our party been so discriminatory? Unless of course you are not a liberal at all. As for "as everyone says you are making yourself look sad and pathetic" er...........who exactly? How exactly? Democracy only ever works when there is a choice, Lembit is a serious contender and there are many serious party members who back him. Are you to suggest that if I had written daily in support of Ros I would have been labelled the same - and if not why not? We all have our own views on who would do the best job of President and I am as entitled to mine as anyone else. I certainly wouldn't either hide under the cloak of anonymity to spill my bile against another candidate. I deduce you are worried about the prospect of a Lembit victory, otherwise you wouldn't have wasted your breath.
Anonymous number two. What damage exactly are you refering too? At times when he has been in the news our poll ratings have gone up, doesn't exactly back up your theory does it? And what "obvious problems" are you alluding to??????
Anonymous number three - no, I won't be embarrassed at all!!!!
And Susan, thanks as ever, for providing the voice of reason. You are quite right, whoever wins we are going to have to work together. Sadly, not all see it as you do. I am frankly shocked at the bitterness of some of the cowardly anonymous comments........makes me wonder who exactly could be behind them.......
"So what of Lembit? When he wins next week (and there can be little doubt now that he will), what will he bring to the "party"?"
Sorry Linda; but you were slightly off the mark. How you ever thought that there was only little doubt Lembit would win is suprising, but there you go.
Im sure you will want to congratulate Ros for an excellent campaign, and as a fellow East of England Lib Dem, will want to work with her in the coming months to promote our party and increase our number of votes and elected representatives.
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