Sir, - John Waters' eulogy to Tony Blair (June 2nd) was nothing short of astonishing: either this article was secretly penned by a certain Alastair Campbell, or Mr Waters has completely suspended his critical faculties.
Waters writes that "the Blair government has shown itself to be as radical and intelligent as the most optimistic of us ... had predicted." However, because the rest of us are so foolish, or simply lacking in sophistication, poor Mr Blair is still prone to being misunderstood, and hence he must protect himself with public relations voodoo.
This is almost Mandeloon-like in its obfuscation of reality. New Labour policies have often been more about spin and PR puff than political substance. What can be clearly discerned, however, is a contempt for civil liberties and a willingness to attack some of the most vulnerable members of society, such as the disabled and lone parents.
Waters argues that "Britain is not cool, not dynamic, not multi-anything .. . it is an atomised society on the verge of a cultural and social collapse." There is a degree of truth in this. However, because it knows deep down that it really has nothing new to say or to offer people, the Labour government does not attempt to challenge the mood of pessimism that grips Britain; instead, it wallows in it. It appeals at every opportunity to base sentiments and emotions, from the Prime Minister's mawkish Diana-fest to the Britpop parties at 10 Downing Street.
The poor turn outs in the voting for the Welsh Assembly and the London mayor demonstrates that new Labour have not managed to reverse the process of popular disillusionment with politics. Nevertheless, moves such as Blair's beatification of the People's Princess have helped to consolidate his own papal infallibility in the eyes of the media, including, obviously, John Waters. The recent attack upon Blair in the New Mu- sical Express that so upset Mr Waters was noteworthy only because such acts of blasphemy in the media are so rare. - Yours, etc., Damian Byrne,
Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1.