[HPforGrownups] Re: Potter for President--er--Prime Minister?

[Neil Ward]

No: HPFGUIDX 8714

Naama said, in response to John's reports of the UK Labour Party wooing JKR:

> I know the reaction we should have is disgust at this blatant attempt to
exploit our
> favorite author in filthy politics. BUT .... I'm delighted!!!  Long live
the Social
> Democrats!! May they flourish and beat the cr.. rubbish out of the
Conservatives. I am
> particularly delighted that it could be JKR, a fantasy writer (!), who can
contribute to
> this victory. Isnt' it wonderful to see even a little bit of power in the
hands of somebody
> nice, for a change?

Hmmmm.  I have mixed feeling about this.

We often see famous people endorsing political parties (John Cleese, for
example, supports the Liberal Democrats and usually appears in their party
political broadcasts), but these news reports are portraying JKR as a
wealthy and influential "prize" that Labour can wave under the nose of the
Tories.  It's probably just a journalistic slant though: the fact that
William Hague likes GoF is obviously not an indicator of Conservative
leanings in the author, as JKR has said publically that she's a socialist.
All the same, it's rather insulting to her.

I think JKR will keep her distance to be honest, but like Naama, I would
cheer inwardly if she decided to support New Labour (note: they are not
Social Democrats - in name, at least - the Democrat arm of the old Labour
Party ended up merging with the Liberal Party some year ago).  I would want
any support to be just her personal endorsement of the party.  I would not
be happy to see images of Harry Potter used in any campaign - that's a step
too far.  I also think JKR's financial support for one parent families was a
personal, wonderful gift that should not be politicised.

Something interesting that we could infer from all this is that, if Labour
is trying to cash in on Harry Potter and William Hague does have GoF in his
'I am trendy, honest' portfolio, they must recognise that the Harry Potter
books are read by VOTERS, i.e. people over 18, even if they think of them as
parents reading to their kids.

Neil
_____________________________________

Flying-Ford-Anglia

"Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing
mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost
as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his
four-poster."

[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]