Gladstone — a leader without equal Lord Jenkins assesses the fortunes of Britain's 51 Prime Ministers, the Times.

Britain has had 51 Prime Ministers during the quarter of the millennium for which this office existed. The term Prime Minis­ter has never been precisely defined and was not used in a formal document until the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. Nonetheless, it has been generally recognized as the head of the executive and the essential hinge between Sovereign and Parliament. In the early days the name itself was more one of reprobation, implying ex­cessive power rather than respect. To have referred to Sir Robert Walpole, who began the long line with a reign of 21 years, as "Prime Minister" was rather the equivalent of calling Tony Blair "presidential".

Over the nearly three prime ministerial centuries the average longevity of premiership has been incredibly constant. The rele­vant 79 years of the 18th century required 14 Prime Ministers, with an average span of five years and seven months. The full 19th century required 18, with an average span of five years and six months. And in the 20th century 19 occupants of the office had an average of five years and three months.

Yet, like most averages, the figures conceal discrepancies. The 18th century picture was distorted by the two long premier-ships of Walpole and the Younger Pitt at either end, standing like two firm posts, holding up a fairly soggy clothesline of interme­diate laundry. Walpole and Pitt were seen as skilful financiers, combining the Chancellorship of the Exchequer with the pre­miership. Walpole looked much more to his own finances, as well as those of the country, than did Pitt, and left in Houghton one of the most sumptuously accoutred mansions in East Anglia. Pitt left debts, but his name resonated down the 19th century. Both Peel and Gladstone were in the habit of referring with great respect to the principles and policies of "Mr. Pitt", making him almost a contemporary.

Nonetheless, I find it difficult to make sensible comparison between the 18th century Prime Ministers and their more recent successors. Their powers, their relationship with their Sovereigns, the style of parliamentary oratory, and indeed Parliament itself, were so different, I think it better to begin the game of ranking Prime Ministers from the Great Reform Bill. It is a game long played (with Presidents) in the US, but only recently seeping across the Atlantic, and like all games more a pastime for the participants than a source of judgments of Jehovah-like value.

Of the 19th century Prime Ministers I see Gladstone as clear­ly pre-eminent, although sustained aloof, like a Pope on his palan­quin, by three powerful but different supporters, none of whom would have been pleased to be thought of in this role. The first was Robert Peel, Gladstone's intellectual equal, although with­out either his multi-faceted energy or his longevity. He and Glad­stone were close but he was benevolently patronizing of Glad­stone, who was 22 years his junior, and would have found it very difficult to conceive of his own role in history as being that of a runner up to his impetuous young protege. Peel was not charismatic, but he left a tremendous imprint upon both British government and British prosperity

On substance as opposed to form, Peel's 1841-46 Govern­ment transformed Britain from an indirect tax maze, with most of the revenue going either to sustain sinecures or to pay the interest upon the debt incurred in the Napoleonic wars, into the leading free market economy of the world. This led the way from the sullen Britain of the Chartists riots into the prosperous third quarter of the 19th century, relatively Britain's most successful period.

Disraeli was a brilliant adventurer, courageous, impudent, a gambler of the highest nerve, whose feat of making himself the leader of the party of English country gentlemen, even if most of his time it was in an impotent minority bunker, was unsur­passed. But as a constructive statesman he was greatly inferior to Gladstone. Salisbury, the third upholder of the palanquin, spent most of his leadership in opposition to Gladstone, but in fact he was much more hostile to the whole style and performance of Disraeli. Such are the exigencies of party politics. He had no respect for popular views, but with cynical skill he adjusted to the extensions of the franchise by making himself the architect of "villa Conservatism" which by delivering the burgeoning sub­urbs to the Tories sustained them for most of the 20th century.

Gladstone's preeminence was a function of the width of his interests, the force of his energy, and the power of his oratory. No one else has been Prime Minister four times. No one else would have devoted half of his last day in office to translating an ode of Horace. No one else could have held by the sheer physical force _of his personality great provincial audiences for an hour and for­ty minutes of orations way above their heads, infused neither by Disraeli's wit nor by Palmerston's blow-hard chauvinism.

Just as Gladstone was pre-eminent in the 19th century, so was Churchill in the 20th century, and for some, but not all, of the same reasons. Their intellectual energy was about equal. Churchill, however, did not have Gladstone's classical or theo­logical knowledge or interest, although he balanced this by hav­ing much better narrative power than Gladstone and a lively com­mand of the history of the past three centuries. He was a much less spontaneous orator than Gladstone, although with heavy prep­aration he delivered far more immortal phrases than Gladstone.

In private discourse he was at least as self-centred, although a greater master of wit and pith than Gladstone. And he fought and won a great war, which would never have been Gladstone's forte.

So did Lloyd George, who had before the war been engaged in a radical partnership with Churchill under Asquith. The more perplexing question is which of these last two Liberal Prime Ministers to put second to Churchill in the 20th century stakes, the one not chosen obviously occupying the third position. Lloyd George had a streak of political genius in him, which the scepti­cal and highly rational Asquith obviously did not possess. He had Celtic imagination, which occasionally led him to be econo­mical with the truth, and he had an ability to communicate spon­taneously with great crowds which put him in a class with Glad­stone and with no other Prime Minister, although Lloyd George addressed them more demotically than did the Grand Old Man.

On the other hand Asquith was a more constructive and con­sistent statesman. As a peacetime Prime Minister he was compa­rable to Peel in the 1840s. He was not a good war leader, partly because he was too fastidious to pretend to an enthusiasm for the squalor and slaughter of battlefields which he did not feel. And he would certainly never have besmirched his record with the squalid maneuverings, lack of principle and even touches of corruption which marked the peacetime coalition of 1919-22. By a whisker, I therefore put Asquith second and Lloyd George third.

Which have been other successes? Obviously, it is too early to make a judgment about Tony Blair, and almost the same could still be said about Margaret Thatcher, although if only by virtue of her length of office, forthrightness of style and being the only wom­an among the 51, hers must be accounted a major premiership.

For my own part I would rate John Major in the stark catego­ry of failure. (I regret Major's position here for I think it was considerably a result of bad luck, but luck is necessarily always a substantial element in political success or failure).

Notes:

1. Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745)

a British politician in the Whig party, who is usually regarded as the first British PM, a position which did not previously exist, and which he held from 1721 to 1742;

2. William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898)

a British politician in the Liberal Party, who was PM four times (1868-1874, 1880-1885,1886,1892-1894). He established a sy­stem of primary education for all children, and also introduced secret voting rights for most males;

3. Robert Peel (1788-1850)

a British Conservative politician who es­tablished the first official British police force and introduced freedoms for Roman Catho­lics. He was PM from 1834 to 1835 and 1841 to 1846;

4. Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928)

a British politician in the Conservative Party who was PM of the UK in 1868 and from 1874 to 1880;

5. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

a Liberal politician whose parents were Welsh and who was PM from 1916 to 1922. He was against increasing the British Empire and in favour of political change. He intro­duced pensions and national insurance;

6. David Lloyd George (1863-1945)

a British Liberal politician and PM from 1908 to 1916

General comprehension questions:

1. How does the institution of Prime Ministers compare in lon­gevity with that of Parliament?

2. What do Robert Walpole and Tony Blair have in common from the point of view of Lord Jenkins?

3. Which of the 20th century prime ministers can be compared to Robert Peel of the 19th century? Explain.

4. What contribution did Robert Peel make to Britain's well-being?

5. What qualities essential in;a statesman did Gladstone, Chur­chill and Lloyd George share?

6. Why does the word "presidential" serve as a term of repro­bation in British politics?

7. Why is the ranking of PMs considered to be a game or a pa­stime?

8. What gave Jenkins the right to compare Gladstone to a Pope?

9. Discuss under what sort of circumstances Churchill might have said the following. What made those words memo­rable?

1. Saving is a very fine thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you.

2. I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

3. Politics are almost as exciting as war, and quite as danger­ous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.

4. It has been said that democracy is the worst form of govern­ment except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

Exercise 14

Translate the following sentences from the text into Russian. Pay attention to the sentence structure.

1. To have referred to Sir R. Walpole as "Prime Minister" was rather the equivalent of calling Tony Blair "presidential".

2. He and Gladstone were close but he was benevolently pa­tronizing of Gladstone, who was 22 years his junior, and would have found it very difficult to conceive of his own role in history as being that of a runner up to his impetuous young protege.

3. This led the way from the sullen Britain of the Chartists riots into the prosperous third quarter of the 19th century, rela­tively Britain's most successful period.

4. Disraeli was a brilliant adventurer, courageous, impudent, a gambler of the highest nerve, whose feat of making him­self the leader of the party of English country gentlemen, even if most of his time it was in an impotent minority bun­ker, was unsurpassed.

5. Just as Gladstone was preeminent in the 19th century, so was Churchill in the 20th century, and for some, but not all, of the same reasons.

6. The more perplexing question is which of these last two Lib­eral Prime Ministers to put second to, Churchill in the 20th century, the one not chosen obviously occupying the third position.

7. ... almost the same could still be said about M. Thatcher, although if only by virtue of her length of office, forthright-ness of style and being the only woman among the 51, hers must be accounted a major premiership.

Exercise 15

a) Define the following terms. Consult a dictionary.

ECONOMIC POLITICAL

1. indirect tax 1) runner-up

2. revenue 2) protege

3. sinecure 3) franchise

4. interest 4) chauvinism

5. free-market economy 5) premiership

b) Explain the following cultural references:

1. the Great Reform Bill

2. Jehovah-like value

3. Chartist Riots

4. Disraeli — the leader of the party of English country gentle­men. Which party is it?

5. Salisbury — the architect of "villa Conservatism"

6. an ode of Horace

7. Lloyd George had Celtic imagination which led him to be economical with the truth.

c) Explain the following metaphors:

1. PM — the essential HINGE between the Sovereign and Par­liament,

2. Walpole and the Younger Pitt standing like two firm POSTS holding a fairly soggy CLOTHESLINE of intermediate LAUNDRY

Exercise 16

Match the words from the text with their explanation.

1. bunker 1. a period of one thousand years

2. gambler 2. a metal part that joins two objects together and allows the first to swing around the second

3. hinge 3. a person with the highest power in the country

4. mansion 4. a large house

5. maze 5. a vehicle like a box with a seat or bed in­side for one person to be carried on poles

6. millennium 6. a system of twisting and turning paths leading to a central point

7. oration 7. a crowd of people shouting, fighting

8. palanquin 8. a risky player who bets money in the game

9. riot 9. a strongly built shelter

10. sovereign 10. a formal speech made in public

Exercise 17

The following words have more than one meaning. Mark the meaning in which they are used in the text.

COMMAND a) ability to control and use b) order

DISCOURSE a) a serious speech b) a serious conversation c) language

FORTE a) a strong point in a person's character

b) a piece of music played loudly STREAK a) a thin line b) a limited period

c) a quality of character different from other or usual qualities

Exercise 18

Suggest the Russian for the following English phrases and use them in sentences of your own:

excessive power

to look to one's own finances

multi-faceted energy

exigencies of party politics

forthrightness of style

to leave an imprint on

to have a streak of political genius

immortal phrases

conceive of one's own role

besmirch one's record

Exercise 19

Write the following in English using the word combinations above.

Обладая неиссякаемой энергией и прямолинейностью, он легко стал одним из лидеров в своей партии. Другие чле­ны партии понимали, что он обладает задатками гениаль­ного политика, который уже произнес несколько фраз, став­ших бессмертными. Многие были уверены, что под его руководством партия оставит свой след в истории страны. Однако, требования партийной политики таковы, что стар­шинство и коллегиальность имеют значение, и чрезмерная власть одного человека, особенно молодого, чревата авто­ритаризмом. Кроме того, став единственным лидером, он мог бы начать заботиться о своем собственном благополучии и таким образом запятнать свою репутацию.

Exercise 20

Match the nouns with adjectives as they appear in the text:

average bad burgeoning free-market immortal indirect	discourse economy, energy longevity/span luck orator
multi-faceted	phrases
narrative	power
popular	tax
private	suburbs
spontaneous	views

Exerciise 21

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate word combinations from the above.

1. has recently been pursuing him.

2. Recession has hit the of major industrial cities.

3. Catering to is a sure guarantee to success in the coming elections.

4. The state budget is mostly replenished through .

5. It's a. crying shame that the of Russian citizens keeps diminishing.

6. Students crowded in the lecture hall as the professor had the reputation of an excellent .

7. Like planned socialist economy, has its advan­tages and disadvantages.

8. Jefferson's are frequently cited by public ora­tors all over the world.

9. His gift of has saved him more than once in the most desperate situations.

10. One can't but admire the of the young royals.

Exercise 22

Translate the sentences into English.

1. Видимым результатом успехов рыночной экономики стали быстро растущие коттеджные поселки вокруг сто­лицы.

2. Дар рассказчика и популистские взгляды явились га­рантией успеха известного политика.

3. В развитых странах средняя продолжительность жизни постоянно растет.

4. Крайне сдержанный в личном общении, на публике он давал волю своей неиссякаемой энергии и мог часами говорить без бумажки. Многие из его фраз стали бес­смертными.

Exercise 23

Combine verbs with nouns as they appear in the text.

to be engaged in discrepancies

to besmirch the picture

to conceal one's finances, defence, health

to conceive of one's own role

to distort an imprint upon

to have debts, losses, expenses

to incur a streak of political genius

to leave interest on

to look to partnership

to pay one's record

Exercise 24

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrase from the exercise above.

1. No amount of statistics could in his various ac­counts.

2. Withheld pieces of evidence will obviously of the crime.

3. It's only fair that in time of crisis people should .

4. He could not of a father-in-law.

5. of her foot in the moist clay gave her a feeling of being a celebrity.

6. The final reward will more than .compensate for any you may .

7. Children have a of cruelty.

8. You will have to on your mortgage.

9. She's been with two of the other local lawyers.

10. Like many other leaders he showed readiness to discredit and_________of those who stood in his way.

Exercise 25

Open the brackets using the English phrases for the Russian ones.

1. In ancient times the world (представлялся) as flat.

2. A 400 year long Tartar-Mongol yoke (оставило след) upon the history of Russia.

3. The company (понесла тяжелые потери) in its first year.

4. To avoid the epidemic you should (позаботиться о своем здоровье).

5. The chief of the police is doing his utmost (чтобы скрыть вопиющие разночтения) between the crime rates of differ­ent cities.

6. Staring at the canvas the critics tried to imagine what it had looked like before the vandals (повредили картину).

7. He borrowed a large sum of money knowing that he will have to (заплатить проценты).

Exercise 26

Translate the sentences using the new word combinations.

1. У него блестящий послужной список, который ему бы не хотелось запятнать.

2. Прошедшие десятилетия наложили отпечаток на всех нас.

3. Подайте в суд на компанию за все расходы, которые вы понесли во время командировки.

4. Я всегда знала, что у него есть задатки гениального по­литика.

5. Сегодня трудно вообразить жизнь без газет.

6. Осажденные в крепости согласились на временное пре­кращение огня и проведение переговоров, однако надея­лись использовать эту передышку для того, чтобы поза­ботиться о своей обороне и восстановить крепостные сооружения.

7. Газеты представили искаженную картину событий, со­путствовавших забастовке работников высших учебных заведений страны.

8. Мы были партнерами в течение пяти лет.

Exercise 27

Write a comment on the following:

"Luck is always a substantial element in political success or failure".

Here is a text about the founding fathers of the United States of America, revered, praised and honoured by the American public. However the author of the text below examines the founding era from the point of view of competitiveness and rivalry between the groups of politicians.

Before reading the text answer the following questions:

1. What do you know about the Founding Fathers of the USA? Name them.

2. Did they succeed in accomplishing their mission?

3. What used to be and what are the two main parties of the USA?

What is the main legislative body in the USA, what does it comprise?

4. What do the following officials do: the Vice President, the Secretary of State and the Treasury Secretary of the USA? What is a Republican ticket?

While reading the text try to understand why the author called it "Founding Rivalries " and why he referred to the Founding Fathers as "squabbling brothers ".