“An October surprise” is American political-speak for news deliberately created or timed to influence the outcome of its November presidential election. US Election Day, just ten days away, sees the two most unpopular candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, ever recorded in polling history, face off against each other. Neither has really needed the addition [...]
'You have to go a long way back to find a cabinet which is so openly at war with itself' The brilliantly funny 1993 movie Groundhog Day concerns an unpleasant weatherman, played by Bill Murray, who is covering the annual ritual of the groundhog emerging from its hole to predict the arrival of spring. But [...]
The most famous use of animal allegory in political satire was by George Orwell in his 20th-century classic Animal Farm. Its place in the canon of the most influential books of our time is cemented because of its brilliant, indirect, but coruscating account of a magnificent and just revolutionary cause morphing into a nightmare of [...]
Two events last Friday morning, oceans and several time zones apart, remind us that politicians embrace the full spectrum of the ethical universe. First up, literally since it was predawn, were the intemperate, vituperative and ranting tweets - starting at 3am - of US presidential candidate Donald J Trump. These were on heavyweight matters: on [...]
Tony Leon is a major figure in South African politics. He became the leader of the Democratic Party in 1994, and over the next five years, he helped grow it into South Africa’s second largest party, making him Leader of the Opposition. He held this role for several years until 2007, keeping the ruling African [...]
