Thursday 14 May 2009

Hail Hail! The George is here! Views on George Galloway

A genuinely good speaker. A joy to listen to

Disadvantages: He is, when all is said and done, a clever politician

I like to listen to George Galloway's talksport show. I don't listen to it on a Friday and Saturday night, when it is on live, but there is a facility to listen again via his website. 

I see George Galloway more as one who is in the media, rather than a politician. He is of course using the media though to get his political agenda across. 

I am not very 'political', so couldn't tell you one politician from the other. So with that in mind I first encountered George Galloway on Celebrity Big Brother, where he came across as a bit of a good guy, and definitely one who knows his mind, and one who knows how to put his point across. And what about the cat episode. He got a lot of stick for that - I thought he was a sport to be honest. 

I heard about Mr Galloway being summoned to answer some questions by some Big Dicks in the USA. Again, not being one who gets involved with politics, I didn't really understand what it was all about, but I tracked the video down on youtube and was highly impressed by the way Mr Galloway held his ground. 

Then, I heard he presents his own radio show and tuned in. Well there is no doubt that this is a mouthpiece for his politics, but whether or not you agree with what he says, he certainly drums up some debate. This is a show worth listening to, you might get angered, you might feel in total disagreement, you might revel in what he says. You will in all likelihood be hooked. 

George Galloway's political stance would seem to be all about a fair society for all races, creeds, etc. His favourite subjects are the situation in Palestine and the famous Glasgow Celtic, although he has promised not to mention them, and has agreed to donate to charity when he does. 

As you may have guessed, he is not only a Scot, but a Catholic and from time to time he will take the opportunity to remind listeners, in no uncertain terms some of the abuse that Scots, Catholics and Catholic Scots in particular have had to put up with over the years, especially from their fellow country men. This can make very interesting listening when he gets a particular type of caller from the West Coast of Scotland. 

Despite his nationality and religion, surprisingly George Galloway does not want Scottish Independence. He is always very quick to put down, I am glad to say, anyone from one part of the the UK who is prepared to put down someone from another part. 

One thing I cannot stand about his programme is how he can cut off a caller. Fair enough, some people ramble on about nothing, don't make their point, and get nowhere. But sometimes you just feel that George knows a caller isn't going to take the call in the direction he might wan't it to and down comes the fader with a quick "Thank you to that caller. Now moving on" Sometimes this is justified when it becomes clear the caller should never be let near a telephone, never mind a radio station 

Another reason his cutting a caller short bugs me is that the caller has to PAY the call. The caller is paying the radio station, yet it is the caller who is providing the content. This though is more the fault of the producers than George Galloway. 

My conclusions are that I like George Galloway as a media personality, as a politician (for what it is worth with my knowledge of politics). I think if put in charge he could do a lot to solve this country's problems, although I feel his solutions would really rankle the right-wingers in society. 

George is charming and charismatic. With that in mind though I still need to remember he is a politician!

Summary: An entertaining speaker who deserves a higher media profile.

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