A Liberal Cacophony

I did something I haven't done for a long time last night - I watched Question Time on the BBC. I say watched, but that suggests I meant to do it - in truth,  it just caught my attention, despite my best efforts. I'd given up on Question Time around the time of the MPs expenses scandal, when it ceased to be a place for airing arguments and holding leaders to account, and became an outlet valve for the nation's angst. It was also around the time of Nick Griffin's infamous appearance on the show, soundtracked by a cacophony of ineffectual and slightly self-conscious affirmations of liberal values. Watching a room full of people unleash their moderated fury at Britain's premier racist was a bit like trying to make a phonecall at a rock and roll show.

Events this week have thrown this soft core of liberalism back into the spotlight. The week started with the latest installment in the Wikileaks saga, continued with another series of heated student protests, and climaxed with a farcical exhibition of global "politics" in Zurich.

My instinctive reaction to the unprecedented leak of US diplomatic cables was one of disappointment and some distress. We tend to accept that governments need the freedom to operate in secrecy, in a world of uncertainty and competition - and this is true to a large extent. But as far as I could make out (and don't think our government doesn't have a similar stash of information on file), very few of the revelations were in the least bit surprising: Russia is a mafia state; Saudi Arabia doesn't like Iran; Berlusconi is a bit shady. Well spotted folks. The revelation I found most interesting was actually the most comforting - China, it turns out, has noticed that Kim-Jong Il is a bit mental. Why should all this information be classified? Don't tell the world where our nuclear submarines are, but equally don't sit on a vast pile of fairly benign information. The more I reflect on the Wikileaks revelation, the more I start to wonder whether it might actually be a good thing for the world's secret squirrels to open up a bit.

There's no excuse for the secrecy surrounding FIFA's betrayal of world football on Thursday. Nor is there any justification for England's representatives (and a number of other nations') feigning ignorance of the blatant corruption until after they'd lost the vote. Liberal nations should seriously reconsider their membership and tacit endorsement of Sepp Blatter and his consortium. Politics and sport shouldn't mix, but football is already infected by the politics bug.

In short, I think the liberal majority needs to toughen up a bit - and by liberal, i mean conservatives and socialists, as well as most of the western world. The world isn't unipolar (or even bipolar) anymore. There are a lot of different ways of thinking out there, and we would write them off at our peril. But those of us who think we're right to champion tolerance, freedom and moderation need to let people know how right we are. Our short term future has been set out by a coalition agreement that no-one voted for, and yet we find it too inconvenient to do anything about it. Just like Nick Griffin, we make a lot of noise, but not a lot of worthwhile points.

So imagine my surprise when, from the floor of Britain's flagship talking shop, came one of the most solid liberal punches I have heard in a long time. Step forward John Sergeant (fast forward to 3.25), the old BBC heavyweight now best known for his dancefloor antics. As Danny Alexander warbles away, weaving an  incoherent argument about minor details while the big picture is gaping, Sergeant patiently waits his turn. Finally, given his cue by the self-important host, he pounces. "This is a pathetic position." If you can't come up with the right policy, "leave the government." Exactly. It's a parliamentary democracy, not some national PR front.