I have just finished reading the splendid autobiography of ex-German Chancellor Angel Merkel – a woman who, whatever faults many thought she had, strode the world’s political stage like a colossus. She was a serious, grown up politician and although many might have disagreed with her on a raft of things her integrity was never questioned or in doubt nor was her undoubted desire to improve the lot of her own people and the those of the wider world; she was respected by all.I have been thinking about Mrs Merkel in recent days as the Gaza situation continues to deteriorate. I don’t know what her political position would be on that dreadful story but I would guess that the plight of Palestinians would be high in her mindset. And for her it would, I guess be a profoundly difficult situation to negotiate for as a German the dark shadow of the Holocaust and accusations of anti-Semitism are never far from the national consciousness; Germany, understandably, has to tread a very delicate path. As I read Merkel’s autobiography, I was struck by a comment that she made to the German people when Germany, like the rest of the world, was fighting COVID. As her government strove to balance the fight against COVID with the introduction of severe measures such as lockdowns to stop the spread of the disease she said “We are a democracy. We live not by coercion, but by shared knowledge and collaboration.” In other words, harsh measures would only be instituted with the consent of the German electorate. The sentiments and beliefs inherent in those few words put, in a nutshell, the core of democratic government – and something that is increasingly under threat across the world as many countries turn to more right wing, populist, totalitarian regimes; Trump’s America, Netanyahu’s Israel, Putin’s Russia, Orban’s Hungary, Meloni’s Italy…………in countries across the world the sound of jackboots are increasingly whispering in the wind.
Given Angela Merkel’s commitment to democracy and her record as a politician (and especially as someone who grew up in a totalitarian state – East Germany) I am almost certain that she would never, as our own political leadership have done, brought into German law the proscription of a group supporting Palestine, labelling them terrorists because that group committed minor infringement of the law.
The proscription of the protest group Palestine Action by British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is ill considered as a political action and a disgrace in terms of its morality. Under the law introduced by Cooper I can now be jailed for up to 14 years for mentioning the name of the group in this paragraph. I read today that the police, the prison service and ultimately the Home Secretary are currently “clearing space in prisons” to provide space for the many who are going to be arrested for supporting Palestine Action in planned demonstrations over the coming days. That fact in itself should tell Yvette Cooper that she is in a hole; the question is will she keep digging until we can’t see her head!
I am not saying that Palestine Action should not be punished if they break the law – as they clearly recently did when some of its members broke into a military base and damaged aircraft. But to proscribe an organisation and effectively hang a sword of Damocles over the heads of the whole population of the UK for showing support for this group or even uttering their name is nothing short of coercion. It brings into sharp focus with a dreadful irony the famous poem by the imprisoned Nazi opponent, German Padre Martin Niemöller:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Under Cooper’s ill-considered and undemocratic ruling a whole population is being forbidden under penalty of imprisonment to “speak out” when they disapprove of a government policy. That is, by anyone’s yardstick, coercion.
I hold no candle for Palestine Action. I am horrified at the Gaza situation and at Israel’s role – the world must stop it. But so far as Palestine Action is concerned my gripe is pure and simple – it is a bad law wrong at every level and unbecoming of a British government, especially a Labour one. It is short sighted, unsustainable, undemocratic, immoral, naïve and above all coercive; it not only makes the law look an ass, it turns the law into a monster intent upon gobbling up all in its path.
I have voted Labour all my life. Through the harshness of the Thatcher years and more recently in the navel gazing dishonesty of the Tory Party debacles of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Brexit, George Osborne’s “austerity” and all the other Tory car crashes I have “kept the faith”. Throughout my voting life – and I’m 80 now - I have always believed, known even, that although I will often disagree profoundly with some of the things a Labour government might do – or have to do – their “heart would be in the right place”, to govern wisely striving for the benefit of all. Their actions might not improve my lot but, I naively believed, it would improve the lot of someone somewhere – be it in this country or abroad.
I have come to the conclusion in recent months, however, that my beliefs are no longer quite so certain or valid. I don’t doubt the good intentions and sincerity of Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, David Lammy, Lisa Nandy, Yvette Cooper or the rest of the Labour movers and shakers; nor do I doubt the integrity and passion of Jeremy Corbyn and many of his followers. But the reality is that having been in power now for a year they have shown a profound inability to govern wisely – put quite simply, they are not good enough. They have shown a worrying lack of intellectual capacity, political nous and organisational competence; the political shambles over winter fuel payments, various welfare policies, and several economic climb downs all suggest that if they were footballers they would be the third team not the Premier League side, they would have been substituted or transferred long since! This present ill considered proscription policy, however, is not just a chaotic bit of ill thought out legislation, it is far darker and infinitely more troubling about the health and well being of our democracy for it suggests that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's comment in The Gulag Archipelago that "Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty" . We should all be deeply afraid, the democratic balance is tipping away from Angela Merkel's consent model to one of totalitarian coercion. If today it is supporters of Palestine Action who lose their liberties, who comes next? - we are on the slippery pathway to make Martin Niemöller's poem our new reality.
Yes, Labour has given us a sense of calm after the Tory maelstrom and brought some semblance of sensible government back. But their decisions and actions have too often been naïve and ill thought out – as is this proscription of Palestine Action. Perhaps Ms Cooper might find it helpful to read Angela Merkel’s autobiography and and use it as an instruction manual - The Numpties Guide to Being a Politician - even underline in red Mrs Merkel’s comment “We are a democracy. We live not by coercion, but by shared knowledge and collaboration.” Maybe she should take a step back, think things through, understand the very delicate foundations upon which democracy rests upon; in short insert a bit of wisdom into her utterances rather than strutting her stuff, waving the populist flag and polishing her jack boots.
I shall await the knock on my door from MI5 or Special Branch or my local Bobby ready to arrest me for writing the words “Palestine Action” in this post. In that event - "When they come for me" to paraphrase Martin Niemöller's dreaded and fateful words - perhaps someone who reads this will bake me a cake with a file in it and send it to me “Care of Wormwood Scrubs”!
