Charles Kennedy, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, forced out because he was - and had been for years - an alcoholic, is refusing the rule out a return to front-line politics and challenging Ming the Merciless the doddering old fool Campbell for his old job. His reply to the question “Are you going to be the comeback kid?” was:
When you have been the leader of a national political party obviously you know what is involved, you are still of an age where you have got something to contribute, but you don’t have the relentless and remorseless demands upon you in quite the same way.
He does seem to show some signs of still being under the influence, however, since he seems to have forgotten how many hours are in a day, and how many days are in a week, saying:
[I]f you are involved in the story of the day you can be broadcasting 25 hours a day, eight days a week.
And still it won’t be enough, such is the insatiable appetite of the media monster. [emphasis added]
Of course, that could also have been meant as a joke, and a subtle sideswipe at Ming’s leadership.
Will, or can, Charles Kennedy ever return to front-line politics? I’m not sure it’s possible. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, his alcoholism [former or otherwise] will always hang over his head. Whatever happens, the Liberal Democrats should not be stupid enough to put him back in the leadership position. He may still be popular, and more so than Ming, but to put him back as leader would be a huge mistake. For one, it would be a step back in time. Like Hague could never really be Conservative leader again, Kennedy can never be Lib Dem leader again. In these jobs, you only get one chance. For a party to go back to an ex-leader makes them look weak and backwards-looking, rather than strong and forward-looking.
Kennedy, unlike Hague, shouldn’t return to front-line politics at all. No matter what he does or where he goes, the shadow of his alcoholism will always hang over him. Commentators will question everything he does through that lens, and it will always come up again and again in any interview. Since he resigned [or, rather, was pushed] over a personal issue, there is no getting over or away from it in the public mind. He should instead concentrate on building a non-political career. After all, it’s not like the Lib Dems are ever going to make it into government!
Sources: The Telegraph, BBC
To be honest, I doubt it since he appears to be happily married. However, neither would I care if he was.
