Political life shouldn’t be a family affair
The urge to look after one’s own can be powerful but it’s not always compatible with true democracy
Publication: Sunday Times
Joan McArthur
November 30, 2008
We all despise nepotism, but don’t we just love a dynasty? We are intrigued by the fatal glamour of political clans like the Kennedys and Bhuttos, the cascading wealth of Windsors and Rothschilds, the artistic talent gliding through generations of Waughs or Renoirs. Even the random trashiness of our celebrity culture cannot escape — why else did Carol Thatcher become queen of the jungle a few years ago?
