Article first published as This Ivan Is Not An 'Enfant Terrible'! on Technorati.
Someone I’ve known for many years has become embroiled in the latest round of dispatches from WikiLeaks.
Ivan Lewis, the M.P. for Bury, Lancashire, U.K. is alleged to have been branded 'a hound dog where women are concerned' by American diplomats.
So as a long-standing friendly acquaintance I feel bound to defend Ivan, who served as the Foreign Office minister for Libya in the last Labour government and is now the party’s culture spokesman. He must have found the Libya role especially tough as an outspoken and passionate defender of Israel.
Well before he became a splendid constituency M.P. he was the chief executive of the formerly named “Manchester Jewish Social Services” and a hard-working town councillor. He made some local enemies as well as any at Westminster but this happens when a person raises their head above the parapet – especially when that barricade is Israel.
Ivan’s late mother, Gloria loved to quip that her son was desperate to be Prime Minister from the age of 14 but this is the sort of ambition which makes a good politician.
Perhaps he has peccadilloes of a romantic nature and may or may not be always A1* perfect as a working colleague. But I maintain that this sort of drive certainly spurred the likes of JFK and Bill Clinton and a hundred second-rate British politicians whose names elude me as I write.
But I can confirm that Ivan is a very sincere socialist and continues to support the local Jewish community when able. Indeed, as well as helping me with several personal projects, more recently he accepted a call on his private telephone about a synagogue matter as he was due to vote in the Commons. I consider that response far beyond the call of duty and would continue to vote for him if I were still a U.K. resident.
msniw
No comments:
Post a Comment