Julia Hartley Dooda PWNED Again

There are real journalists out there, trying to find stories, check them for factual accuracy, perform follow-on research, and all the while ensuring that they are not distracted by misinformation. And then there are those who simply refuse to listen, and instead continue to peddle opinion masquerading as fact, doing so loudly and persistently. In the latter category are pundits like self-promoting TalkRADIO host Julia Hartley Brewer.

Pretentious? Who, moi?

Ms Hartley Dooda has been unswerving in her opinions on the Covid-19 pandemic: face coverings don’t work, lockdowns don’t work, and so nothing must be permitted to get in the way of Herself Personally Now going off on expensive and ostentatiously trailed long haul holidays, not that she’s just rubbing it in the noses of the less well-off, of course.

Evening all

To this end, she decided to intervene in a discussion on the pandemic involving MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, after he had correctly asserted “To pretend 3k dead a day [that’s in the USA] - around a fifth of whom are vaccinated - is the time to ‘move on’, that this isn’t a state of emergency, is objectively bonkers. Our vaccination and booster rates suck. None for kids under 5. Long Covid is a thing”. Ms Hartley Dooda wasn’t letting that one pass.

“Children don't need Covid jabs, let alone boosters. And there's not a single study showing mask wearing in the real world has any effect at all. You used to be a journalist who looked at facts rather than virtue signalling to get approval. What happened to you?” It was soon made clear to her that face coverings do work, and a whole host of studies showed that they did (a PNAS evidence review makes for a good, if long, read - HERE).

It was also made clear to Ms Hartley Dooda that this was a campaign destined to develop not necessarily to her advantage. Some Tweeters reported her for misinformation. She was told “There are hundreds of studies showing exactly how much masks reduce and contain the spread of airborne respiratory droplets and Covid”, to which all she could manage in response was “There aren't. Really. There aren’t”.

Hasan, meanwhile, applied the most severe of burns when he responded: “You never were one so I won’t ask you that question back … Also, you, like me, have a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics, so save your anti-vaxxer, anti-masker ‘views’ on epidemiology and virology for your conspiracy crowd. Thanks”. In other words, OUCH!

But she was not downhearted: “I've never been anti-vax. I've had Covid twice, am jabbed and have never indulged in any conspiracy theories. I'm not anti-mask, I'm pro-scientific evidence”. She indulged Mike Yeadon until his sick bigotry was exposed. And she was an unswerving supporter of the Great Barrington Declaration. Remember that?

The Declaration’s Wikipedia page notes “The World Health Organization (WHO) and numerous academic and public-health bodies have stated that the strategy is dangerous and lacks a sound scientific basis … [the Declaration] was sponsored by the American Institute for Economic Research, a libertarian free-market think tank associated with climate change denial”. But Ms Hartley Dooda supports what the GBD proposed.

Moreover, she has asserted “the [GBD] was and is correct”. So her assertions are at the very least shaky, and at worst plain flat wrong. And being “pro-scientific evidence” does not mean ignoring the bits that are inconvenient to you. Dooda duly Pwned. Again.

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Anti-Vax Wacko IS JAILED

As has been covered earlier on Zelo Street, the city of Chester has had the dubious distinction of being home to an especially active band of Common Law Covidiots, who have taken it upon themselves to threaten pub licensees, claimed to have seized public buildings, and attempted to disrupt schools. But all things wacko come to a sticky end sooner or later, and so it came to pass yesterday at Chester Crown Court.

Whether he was a member of the so-called True Honorables, or a participant in what was promoted as Common Law Standing In Chester, is not known, but Philip McLoughlin had been at an anti-vaccination rally in June last year, where he had been arrested. Yesterday he went one better: he got himself arrested again, just to be on the safe side.

McLoughlin did not help his cause, as he “appeared at the courtroom escorted by police officers on Friday, February 11, having previously been charged with an offence of assaulting a police officer on June 14, 2021 … McLoughlin, who represented himself, refused to get in the dock in the courtroom, or to enter a plea to the charge, claiming he had ‘not been charged with anything whatsoever’ and that police documents were ‘bogus’”.

It got worse. “He also claimed police had assaulted him during the June 2021 incident, understood to have happened during an anti-vaccination rally … McLoughlin attempted to 'approach the bench' to show Judge Michael Leeming a bundle of documents, which unrepresented defendants are not allowed to do … After continually interrupting the judge during the plea and trial preparation hearing, the defendant was found in contempt by the judge and jailed for seven days”. What happened to the rest of the anti-vax wackos?

“About 15 people had joined McLoughlin for the hearing, with only two allowed in with him due to social distancing measures in place in the courtroom. The remainder waited outside, with several police and security officers guarding the court entrance”. So none of the behaviour that put the cops off dealing more appropriately with the Storyhouse “occupation”.

And then it got a lot worse. “After McLoughlin ignored the arraignment plea to the charge of assaulting a police officer, referring again to his bundle of documents, Judge Leeming said: ‘I will take that as a not guilty plea and will set a date for trial.’ An increasingly irate McLoughlin continued to protest, and Judge Leeming said: ‘I find you in contempt. Police, arrest him.’” So he’s now in jail. And still has his trial to come.

As he whined “That's battery, this is criminal, get off. Get off my paperwork … There is no justice, this is criminal”, it was noted “his trial [is] due to take place at Chester Crown Court on July 11, with an estimated trial length of two days … The judge added he was unable, due to the defendant's behaviour, to provide him with a warning that if he failed to attend, the trial could take place in his absence”. And that may not be McLoughlin’s only problem.

After all, someone called Phil McLoughlin appears to have been heavily involved in a serious incident at Aintree Hospital last December when, as the Liverpool Echo reported, “A group of 'Covid deniers' stormed a Liverpool hospital ward and accused staff of ‘aiding and abetting genocide’ as they tried to remove an elderly patient”. There was an arrest, although it appears it was not McLoughlin who was nicked.

Reality has now arrived in the Covidiots’ world. Long may it continue to do so.

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Bozo Loses His Dick

Cressida Dick, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, had enjoyed what looked like an increasingly charmed existence as Partygate blew up in the face of alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and his coterie of ineptitude. She had fallen out of favour with Priti Patel, the Benidorm holiday rep Home Secretary, but still had Bozo’s backing. But that was not enough: she no longer enjoyed the Mayor of London’s support.

And in a move that surprised many - partly because our free and fearless press dislikes the Commissioner, but equally hates Sadiq Khan, although this is nothing to do with his being a Muslim, you understand - it was the Mayor withdrawing his backing that told her that her time was up. The wrath of Khan was no longer a mere film title.

He did not mince his words: “Last week, I made clear to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner the scale of the change I believe is urgently required to rebuild the trust and confidence of Londoners in the Met and to root out the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny that still exists”. Followed by the damning coda: “I am not satisfied with the Commissioner’s response”. She finally had to go.

Cressida Dick’s response makes clear that she did not jump - she was pushed. “It is with huge sadness that following contact with the Mayor of London it is clear that he no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership of the Met to continue”. So what would she do? “He has left me no choice but to step aside as Commissioner”.

That sounds like she was sacked, but able to reinvent her departure as a mere resignation in the retelling. But the individual who will be most severely affected by the removal of the Dick will not be Sadiq Khan, but Bozo The Clown, who had effectively been using the Commissioner as his own human shield, with the Met declining to investigate a whole series of lawbreaking events in and around 10 Downing Street in breach of lockdown.

The move also shows just who has the power, along with the ability to move decisively when needed: Priti Patel is too indebted to Bozo and so did nothing - except whinge. As free sheet Metro has told, “It is understood Khan did not inform Home Secretary Priti Patel of his intention to request a meeting with the Commissioner … Home Office sources say Patel was not impressed by this and thought it was ‘rude and unprofessional’”.

Get out the nanoviolin. Ms Patel had also lost confidence in Cressida Dick, but dared not upset Bozo. So she ought to be grateful to the Mayor for doing the deed, instead of deploying a significant amount of brass neck and calling “rude and unprofessional” on someone else. How dare he, eh? Everyone knows that’s her job.

Ms Patel, though, will know that removing Commissioner Dick leaves Bozo exposed. And if Bozo is finally prised out of 10 Downing Street, the current Home Secretary, along with several other cabinet ministers who have been impeccably loyal to Johnson, but promoted way beyond their abilities, will follow him in returning to the back benches.

Johnson has lost his Dick. Will his premiership follow? It would be so richly deserved.

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Regulated Media - MY ARSE

The Online Safety Bill. Some people find it difficult to talk about; others find it increasingly difficult to do. And very firmly in the latter category is our free and fearless press which, let us not drive this one around the houses for too long, has taken one look at the idea of outlawing the publication of misinformation, realised that this would stop much of its output stone dead, and so has decided to lobby vigorously for special treatment.

Whether it’s the shameless promotion of Covid-19 “sceptics”, as with the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph promoting the rantings of Allison Pearson, the idea that alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson making claims about the prosecution of Jimmy Savile (or lack thereof) had nothing to do with a recent mobbing of Labour leader Keir Starmer, or the Mail still pushing climate change denial by railing against Net Zero carbon targets, the pushing of press misinformation is relentless.

Most of the Fourth Estate is bang to rights on the issue. So, at first, this looked like a difficult one to argue. But a combination of reminding the Government just who is keeping them in power - clue: not Bozo’s skill or his ministers’ abilities - and blatant taking of the piss has done the trick. They get let off because they are REGULATED!

Leaving aside for a moment that IPSO, the press regulator that effectively isn’t, has shown that it couldn’t regulate its way out of a paper bag, Press Gazette has taken this lobbying success very seriously indeed. “New criminal offences to combat offensive communications such as harmful Covid-19 disinformation will have a built-in exemption for the press as part of the Online Safety Bill, the Government has said” they have reported.

There was more. “The Government said none of the three new offences, covering harm, falsehoods and threats, will apply to ‘regulated media such as print and online journalism, TV, radio and film’”. And who broke the news? “Chris Philp, minister for tech and the digital economy, announced the exemption for the press to MPs on Friday”.

Philp demonstrated his commitment to social distancing - as in distancing himself from reality - by claiming “Whilst we do not expect the new offences will capture communication made by the media, including this press exemption demonstrates the Government’s commitment to upholding media freedom”. Does he never read a newspaper?

The legal director of the News Media Association - effectively the press’ trade body - was also taking the piss, asserting “A strong, robust and workable press exemption is necessary to ensure that journalists can continue to carry out their vital role effectively when these new offences come into force”. Maybe she doesn’t read the papers, either.

But what is clear is who is really being targeted. After telling readers that new additions to the bill “include revenge porn, hate crime, fraud, the sale of illegal drugs or weapons, the promotion or facilitation of suicide, people smuggling and sexual exploitation”, we learn “Tech giants will be told they must proactively prevent people from being exposed to such content, potentially with automated or human content moderation, whereas before the bill said only that they must take it down after it had been reported by users”.

This bill protects the Tories’ press pals, while beating up on those who might let the real world intrude. Another day, another lurch towards authoritarianism. Be yet more afraid.

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Master Cole Protests Too Much

While his paper continues its increasingly desperate attempts to shore up the credibility of alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, the odious flannelled fool Master Harry Cole, that least convincing of pretend journalists now somehow elevated to become political editor of the Murdoch Sun, has for some reason found himself unable to refrain from another of those embarrassing Oh What A Giveaway moments.

The lights are on, but is anyone home?

This unforced error was kicked off by Master Cole musing “Accusations of ‘Trumpian tactics’ are very rich from MPs who themselves spent years pretending with a straight face that a major election was ‘stolen’ by dodgy facebook adverts and fake news about Moscow gold”. This prompted Carole Cadwalladr of the Observer to ask a question.

“I’m confused, Harry. Didn’t the Kremlin send you on an all expenses paid trip to Moscow when you were a ‘reporter’ at Guido in what what was later revealed to be a Russian influence operation instigated by a Russian “diplomat’ whose visa was later rescinded?” How would a sensible person have responded? How would Nietzsche have responded?

Ah, but Master Cole does not inhabit that intellectual hinterland. “We know you are confused, Carol”. Tee hee hee! Treble Brownie points all round!! But away from the sneering misogyny, Peter Jukes of Byline Media was not deflected. “While you worked at Guido Fawkes, it worked directly for the Russian Government propagating its messages via Messagespace. Did you have any part in that deal (given your trips to Moscow)?”

And after a little more prodding from Jukes, Cole duly lost it. “You’ve had several occasions now to refute evidence about your own crying in the shower Peter - you’ve chosen not to. That’s an answer … Who the hell are you to throw a lie at someone and then say GUILTY when they laugh in your face instead of answering it”.

What was also clear was that Cole, along with Jag Singh, did not make just the one visit to Moscow: Zelo Street picked up on the December 2011 visit, but Singh’s Facebook page confirmed an earlier trip, in June of that Year. There he is, alongside Master Cole, at super-expensive restaurant Sixty, with night-time panorama of the Moscow River in the background. Sixty is famous for its panoramic views. It’s on the 62nd floor.

Moving right along from considerations of what might happen to guests who have incurred the displeasure of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and his gangsterist régime, it has to be noted that Master Cole has form for losing his cool when the Russia Connection is mentioned, as he did when Zelo Street did so back in December 2011.

Meanwhile, Jukes first mused “The Political Editor of the Sun, refusing to explain why he claimed UK Trumpian tactics and Moscow gold were ‘fake news’, when here he is with the inventor of Trumpian tactics Steve Bannon, and in a golden Moscow restaurant while his boss Guido Fawkes was working for the Kremlin”, and then added “Murdoch - Trump - Putin. Seriously, I wasn’t looking for this trifecta. It’s just there”. So it was. And still is.

It was to Denis Thatcher that “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt” was attributed. Cole just showed it remains true today.

Why is he still so sensitive about the Russia connection? Over to the real investigative journalists.

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UK - You’re Being Trumped

The story of the 2020 United States Presidential Election campaign can be put simply and directly: an increasingly wayward right-wing incumbent, his party shackled to him and his viciously bigoted and damaging demagoguery, and an opposition knowing that they must assemble a winning coalition behind the best candidate to beat that incumbent. Their candidate was Joe Biden; he beat combover crybaby Donald Trump decisively.

How much substance is there behind the façade?

Now, the UK finds itself in a worryingly similar situation: alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson has shown himself time and again to be a congenital liar, utterly inept at any business of Government, absolutely without empathy, devoid of consideration for others, increasingly authoritarian and magnificent only in his narcissism. He can carry on until the end of 2024. Unless his party gets rid of him. And the opposition improves.

The problem there is that the Tory Party has swerved right and has mutated into a Brexiteer death cult. Many of its MPs are anti-science, viciously Europhobic, blind to the damage Bozo is doing to their own country, and, backed into a corner by enraged constituents but also the prospect of their own party and our free and fearless press shooting them dead if they dare retreat, are, like the GOP, shackled to Bozo’s lying.

Leaders of the past would not be welcome either in the Republican Party, or by the Tories. Two time President Dwight Eisenhower, like his UK contemporary Harold Macmillan, would today be denounced as a dangerous leftist. Charles David Keeling, whose observations of the advancing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere gave us the Keeling Curve, was a registered Republican. Now his party is the party of climate change denial.

The GOP has decided that the January 6 attempted insurrection was merely “normal political discourse”. It has therefore legitimised terrorism - providing its own side does it. Similarly, Bozo’s abhorrent behaviour is excused by the media establishment: he can do what he pleases and there will be no press blowback. That includes encouraging hatred against people who are not white, and indeed the whole LGBT community.

About that much, unfortunately

Why don’t the Tories just dump Bozo? Sadly, they have the same problem as the GOP: as with Trump, whose grip on reality is so tenuous that he still believes he won in 2020, there is no credible successor. Worse, any MP who shows signs of manoeuvring for position is immediately attacked by the right-wing press, as with Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak today. And dumping Bozo is the only way he will go.

There is no chance this side of Hell freezing over that he will go of his own volition. Nor will his third wife Carrie. They both wanted to be where the power was, and now they have got there, there is no way they are volunteering to let go. So the UK is stuck. Many voters still cling to the belief that Brexit was a great success, that price rises are the fault of someone foreign, and that the Tories are DELIVERING. But their number is rapidly dwindling.

Yet, as with Trump and the GOP loading the Supreme Court in their favour, dismantling voting rights, gerrymandering electoral districts and normalising violent insurrection, the Tories continue to damage their own country untroubled by the prospect of removal. The credibility of the UK is being sprayed up the wall. Or perhaps that should be spaffed.

And that’s without the inept handling of the pandemic. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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Guido Goofs On Savile Smear

So desperate was alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson to throw the largest possible dead cat when confronted with the merest hint that Sue Gray’s report had come to a seriously damning conclusion that he maliciously, and wrongly, smeared Labour leader Keir Starmer by claiming that the latter had failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.

Behold the arbiter of decency and morality

He was egged on, to no surprise at all, by the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog, who did not pass adverse comment on the initial smear. Indeed, yesterday they told readers not yet asleep “Boris used a quiet moment on his big trip to Ukraine yesterday to double down on his claims about Sir Keir Starmer and Jimmy Savile. Speaking to The Sun, the PM said ‘As far I’m aware, it’s fairly accurate’”.

There was more. “As a Tory source points out to The Sun, if Sir Keir is really passing the buck on decisions taken by the CPS while he was head of the organisation, can he say what action he took at the time against those members of the CPS who were personally responsible? And did he similarly refuse to take any credit for achievements by the CPS that he had no personal involvement in? Guido suspects the answers to both is ‘no’”.

Yesterday afternoon brought “As Starmer attempts to disclaim any responsibility for the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile, this morning Guido asked whether he’d similarly refused to take credit for CPS victories in which he played no part as DPP … Once again, we’re now supposed to pretend Sir Keir has no questions to answer, nor any responsibility to shoulder, over the Savile handling by the CPS. It seems to look bang to rights, m’lud”.

What also happened yesterday were three more Tory MPs delivering letters of no confidence in Bozo’s leadership. But hey ho, details, eh? And so today The Great Guido told “As the row over Boris’s Savile attack spills into another day, James Cleverly gave Nick Robinson as good as he got … Cleverly … pointed out Starmer’s hypocrisy over his own leadership …. The culture is set at the top of an institution”. And then?

Then they just kept on going, with “Mogg Slams Starmer For Savile Prosecution Failure”. But now Bozo wanted to cool the temperature, telling “Let’s be absolutely clear, I’m talking not about the Leader of the Opposition’s personal record when he was DPP and I totally understand that he had nothing to do personally with those decisions. I was making a point about his responsibility for the organisation as a whole”. But there was a problem.

What The Great Guido wasn’t telling anyone was that Bozo had said he’d say sorry, but then, anyone who believes that really will believe anything. And so it came to pass that there was one totally unexpected resignation: Munira Mirza, Spiked alumna, resigned as Bozo’s head of policy. And her resignation letter was published by the Spectator mag.

The BBC report notes “The PM backed down on Thursday, saying the Labour leader ‘had nothing to do personally with those decisions’ … But Munira Mirza said he should have apologised for the misleading remark”. Former chief Downing Street polecat Dominic Cummings approved. “Moral courage from Munira who has done her best to make progress with a professional team throughout the horror since 11/20. It's also an unmistakeable signal the bunker is collapsing & *this PM is finished*”.

But good to see Staines and Bozo share one attribute: moral compass? Who needs one?

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Bozo Savile Smear DESPERATE

Yesterday, despite attempts to kick the 10 Downing Street party investigation into the hands of the Metropolitan Police and thus delay the bad news yet further, brought another bad Parliamentary day for alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. Such was Bozo’s desperate barrel scraping that, despite being advised not to smear Labour leader Keir Starmer, he did just that. And the whole Labour front bench, too.

Why a Tory PM playing the Savile card is not a wise move

Enough of Sue Gray’s report had been published for anyone who read it to know that there had been a serious lack of principled behaviour in and around 10 Downing Street while the rest of the country was in lockdown. Twelve gatherings that took place during those months had “reached the threshold for Police investigation”, including at least three where Bozo just happened to be present. Starmer wasted no time reminding him of this detail.

So how did Bozo counter the attacks on his lack of integrity? Having briefed the media that he would be saying sorry, and saying it a lot, what would a Prime Minister with brain properly engaged have done before opening his North and South? What would a sensible PM have done to rally his party behind him? What would Nietzsche have done?

But Bozo is not a sensible PM, and so off he went: “the report does absolutely nothing to substantiate the tissue of nonsense that he has said … Instead this leader of the opposition, a former director of public prosecution - who used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, as far as I can see - he chose to use this moment to continually pre-judge a police inquiry”. Ah, the old Savile smear ploy!

Sadly, as Paul Waugh from the i Paper pointed out, “Extraordinary low blow at [Keir Starmer] from [Boris Johnson], giving Parliamentary credence to the false online smear about Starmer not prosecuting Jimmy Savile. It's just not true. And surely the PM knows it?” He helpfully cited the Reuters fact check debunking the claim [HERE].

And Bozo’s target audience was not impressed, as Sebastian Payne of the FT noted: “I think it’s fair to say Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Saville reference is not going down well with Tory MPs. ‘Totally outrageous’ one says”. Then, as Jon Worth observed, it got worse. “A MP, Labour [Luke Pollard] asks Johnson if there were any drug taking at Downing Street. Johnson says he should direct the question at the Labour front bench”.

So, as Eleni Courea summed up, “During this debate Boris Johnson has accused Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile and the Labour front bench of taking drugs”. To which James Ball added “Again, a reminder that this is supposed to be the bit where the prime minister apologised to the House - they briefed he would say ‘sorry’ a lot - and tried to start drawing a line under all this. That is very much not what happened”.

Adam Bienkov of Byline Times concluded “So in summary Boris Johnson’s response to the Sue Gray report has been to: - Repeat a far-right smear associating the leader of the opposition with a paedophile - Accuse the Labour front bench of being on drugs - Talk about freeports”. As Steve Bray might have said, it’s not going very well, is it?

Yet the right-leaning part of our free and fearless press continues to shill for Bozo, clinging to the idea that a mythical Good Old Boris will return. The reality is that, as Starmer told the Commons, that Bozo just damages all around him. Including all those cheerleaders.

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Portugal - Far Right Shut Out

Whenever elections come round in the Netherlands, one outcome is certain: a coalition Government is formed, and the one party that never gets invited to the party is that led by Islamophobic bigot Geert Wilders. Yesterday, after Portugal had a snap general election - precipitated by the minority Government having its budget voted down last October - the result led to a Wilders moment there, too, as the far right was cold shouldered.

Portuguese Parliament in Lisbon

The centre-left PS (Socialist Party) had led a minority Government since 2015 under the leadership of former Lisbon Mayor António Costa, with the agreement of the CDU (alliance of the Communists and Greens) and the Left Bloc. Both the latter parties joined the centre-right, right-wing and others in voting down Costa’s budget. Both have suffered. Badly.

Although opinion polls suggested a resurgence from the centre-right PSD (Social Democratic Party), when the results were announced, they had actually lost three seats. The PS had gained nine - enough to claim a majority in the 230-seat assembly. At the news, PS supporters rejoiced; there was an impromptu rendition of Grândola. But the CDU lost half their seats, and the Left Bloc lost 14 of their 19, their worst result since 2002.

António Costa - a majority at the third attempt

The right-wing People’s Party fared yet worse: they were wiped out. So who else gained ground? The Liberal Initiative, which is libertarian rather than social liberal, gained seven seats. And Chega (which means “enough”) gained eleven, to become the third largest party in the Assembly. But Chega will not be getting a hearing from the PS.

As the BBC has reported, Chega’s leader André Ventura “hailed Sunday's result as marking the end of ‘soft’ opposition to the Socialists”. However, “[António] Costa said that if, as expected, Portugal's president now asks him to form a government, he will in future be open to dialogue with all political forces except Chega”. Why so?

André Ventura - big poll gains but ...

Because Chega, like Geert Wilders’ PVV, is, effectively, The Fash. Ventura has been described as “belligerent”; others would simply call him a gobshite. He’s a racist bigot. He’s called for “a new dictatorship”, for Portugal’s Roma population to be put into camps, has called in Parliament for a black Deputada to be “returned to her country of origin”, and has even called for women who have abortions to have their ovaries removed.

The Man Who Would Be Salazar has now added a demand for sex offenders to be chemically castrated to his wish-list. He’s also criticised Portugal’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout, despite the country double-jabbing a higher percentage of its population well ahead of its neighbours - and, whisper it quietly, well ahead of the UK.

... will probably end up powerless - like him

But Ventura will not be able to wield influence - other than sounding off - if Costa decides not to listen to him. And the PS majority will likely increase further: four seats are yet to be called, these being two for citizens living elsewhere in Europe, and two for citizens living in the rest of the world. In 2019, the PS and PSD each scored two of the four.

So after the impromptu rendition of Grândola has died down, Portugal has a bittersweet result: the centre-left now has a majority and can provide stable Government for the next four years, but the parties that precipitated the poll have to regroup after serious losses.

Also, the country now has its own Geert Wilders. The Fash never really went away.

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