The snake and the leech (otherwise known as the Blairs)

Michael Portillo thinks that the Dave-The-Chameleon broadcasts further undermined Tony Blair's moral authority and kept David Cameron - "the green pimpernel" - in the headlines.  This idea that Labour's ad campaign has backfired has some substantiation from a BPIX poll in the Mail on Sunday (not online).  Just 1 in 20 voters thought that Labour's local election broadcast would make them less likely to vote Tory.  1 in 7 said that it would make them more likely to put their cross next to the Conservatives.

The MoS went on to ask what animal BPIX's panel members associated with other leading politicians.  Labour's politicians didn't do well...

A snake was the top choice of animal for Tony Blair (from 1 in 4 respondents);

• 4 in 10 likened John Prescott to a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig (although this might change if the Deputy PM sticks at his new three-times-a-week gym routine);
• Gordon Brown reminds people of a bear;
• Ming Campbell is likened to a tortoise;
• George W Bush to a chimpanzee;
• Margaret Thatcher to a tiger;
• The same number likened David Cameron to a labrador as a chameleon.

48 hours after we learnt that Mrs Blair presented Labour with a £7,700 bill for hairstyling, one-third of the panel identified the Prime Minister's wife with a leech.  The Mail on Sunday also reports that 1 in 6 regarded her as a cat: "Presumably the one that got the cream".  Given that it's St George's Day, I'm surprised there weren't more takers for the dragon.

Comments

[buxtehude]

Brown being seen as a bear is worrying - that's pretty positive. As a labrador-owner myself, I'm pleased that DC is seen like one.

[Tom Paine]

I suspect they were thinking of a bear with a sore head, as he's such a grump. Or maybe they are remembering Yogi stealing from picknickers in Yellowstone Park? Or perhaps, a certain bear of very little brain?

[Chad]

I've got to agree with Nick Robinson really. The Dave ad as much as Cameron's post-budget rant or even his racist-slur on UKIP was not aimed at converting people but envigorating the faithful, getting the loyal activists onto the streets and spreading the message.

I agree with Bux though that a Bear for Brown is worrying as it is a positive image and perhaps the only positive image in the selection. Various groups from gays groups, russia, and lots more associate themselves with the image of the bear or bear-print.

Here's just one extract:

Bear is known for his great physical strength. In North American mythology Bear symbolises inner power and is also considered Guardian of the Earth or a Guardian spirit.

In Western culture, Teddy Bears are used as comforting and cuddly toys that often guard a child during sleep-time. In children’s literature, bears abound as main characters in fairy tales, picture books and novels.

I prefer to think of Brown as I try to satirise here at GordonBrownMP.org as Uncle Go' a rather stalinist figure striving for full state control of everything.

Of course Blair is a snake but he won't be fighting the next election. To replace a snake with a bear can only be a positive for Labour, unfortunately.

[Sean Fear]

That's very funny, and spot on. If they'd allowed people to describe politicians as mythical beasts, then Two Jags would obviously have compared to Jabba the Hut.

Best still, if you visit Hampton Court Palace, there's a Putto who's the spitting image of Two Jags - fat, jowelly, bulldog glare and all.

[Frank Young]

I was canvassing in Richmond yesterday where I came across the following, excellent mantra - "we're too busy knocking on doors to knock our opponents".

This really enthused me and says a lot about what is happening on an almost daily basis in the Conservative party outside of Westminster.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

I've always thought that Two Jags resembles the nodding dog in the Churchill Insurance commercials.

[Gregor Hopkins]

I think an in depth analysis on political anthropomorphisms is going a bit far, maybe people see Brown as a bear because he's big and square, in today's superficial society I wouldn't count on any deep thinking.

p.s. Yogi Bear lived in Jellystone Park, it's all in the details!

[Deputy Editor]

Alliteration is a big factor in what animals think of first - Thatcher the tiger, Prescott the pig, Brown the bear.

[Editor]

...Cameron the chameleon!

[James Maskell]

Along that lines that makes Maude the... I can only think of one thing! Its not so much aliteration than rhyming...

[Patsy Sergeant]

Bored? No I am sure that isn't it! I am not very good at that!

But I do object strongly to Madame Blair being likened to a cat by the Mail on Sunday! 1) She was the one by all accounts who got rid of (I can't remember its name off-hand) from Downing Street, and apart from the cat in Alice in Wonderland, cats don't grin all the time showing acres of teeth! I think a hippobottommass might be more suitable for her!

[Alastair Matlock]

Haha! Prescott as Jabba the Hut is a perfect resemblance, Sean. Can't imagine why I've never likened the two in the past!

[Chris Palmer]

I am sure that many Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs would be very unhappy at being compared with John Prescott.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"Haha! Prescott as Jabba the Hut is a perfect resemblance, Sean. Can't imagine why I've never likened the two in the past!"

It should be obvious. I mean, the man has more chins than the Hong Kong phone book.

[Annabel Herriott]

Dont you think Cherie is more of a great white shark, what with her big mouth, and her spending and grabbing proclivities?

[Selsdon Man]

I have always thought that Cherie looks like a skunk. I have never had the misfortune to be close enough to smell her!

[Will]

I think Cherie is a successful professional women married to one of the world's most powerful men. Combined with being a good mother and still fights for issues she gets paid to care about.

The Daily Mail can't cope with this and neither can some of you. Lioness is probably a fairer image.

[Rick]

to one of the world's most powerful men.

Powerful ? How so ?

A mediocre military power with a low-productivity, high-cost economy running the second highest trade deficit on earth.

A country which cannot run a modern railway, cannot even manufacture even a radio set, or build an aircraft, nor cannot it control its borders, ensure policing to deter gun crime, nor ensure it is not dependent upon energy imports for gas and electricity..................

The inherent weakness of this country and its Prime Minister is self-evident - he backs down before every obstacle unless holding hands with Big Brother George to give him backbone - Blair has the negotiating skills of a doormat

[Sean Fear]

"Dont you think Cherie is more of a great white shark, what with her big mouth, and her spending and grabbing proclivities?"

Actually, I'd say she resembles a truffle-hound, given her fondness for grabbing every freebie going.

[Graeme Archer]

To Patsy: the cat whom the Blairs had evicted from Downing St was called Humphrey. Many of us refuse to believe the Labour spin that Humphrey simply retired to the country, and continue to believe that something awful happened with a vet. Perhaps the cat liked playing with Madame Blair's expensive hairs? My neighbour Simon calls Cherie a "cat murdering *****" for what she did to Humphrey. If the cat fits ...