Galloways Angry Constituents

international | miscellaneous | other press

Friday January 13, 2006 11:46

by pat c

While George Galloway boosts his ego on Big Brother his constituents are getting angry at his abscence. When will he be back at work?

The following article is printed in full as the online Economist requires a paid subscrirtion.

pat

George Galloway

Big Blatherer
Jan 12th 2006
From The Economist print edition

Big Brother is watching you

SINCE George Galloway's election last year as MP for Bethnal Green and Bow—on a stridently anti-war platform that appealed to the many Muslims in his inner London constituency—he has rarely been far from the public eye. His reputation spread to America after a grandstanding appearance last May in front of American senators investigating allegations that he had profited from illegal Iraqi oil sales.

Yet Mr Galloway's most eyebrow-raising escapade to date is his decision, revealed last week, to take part in the fourth series of “Celebrity Big Brother”, a reality-TV show in which semi-famous contestants are confined to a house for 23 days. There they argue, drink and flirt with each other, and try to avoid being voted out by viewers. His participation was justified, he said, because some of the money raised from those who vote would go to a Palestinian charity, and the exposure would bring his politics to a wider audience.

Sadly, discussion among his fellow contestants—who include a topless model, atransvestite singer and a woman famous for sleeping with the England football coach—has so far focused on the gynae cological rather than the geopolitical (his supporters accuse Channel 4 of censorship). Mr Galloway was so taken aback by the constant sex-talk that he admitted to wondering whether he is as in touch with public sentiment as he thought.

Similar doubts plague his constituents, though for slightly different reasons. Muhammad Abdul Bari, the chairman of a large mosque in Mr Galloway's constituency, remarked to the Times that many Muslims see the programme as “indecent”.Protestors marched outside Mr Galloway's most recent weekly constituency meeting (held in his absence) demanding that he get back to work.

Indeed, Mr Galloway's public appearances seem to have come at the expense of his parliamentary duties. According to the Public Whip, a website that tracks voting records, he ranks in the bottom 3% of all MPs when it comes to attending votes, one place ahead of Tony Blair. Others ranking lower include the Speaker and Deputy Speakers, who cannot vote, five Sinn Fein MPs, who refuse to attend on ideological grounds, and Rachel Squire, who died last week after a long battle with cancer.