The Brexit Party and pitch perfect political kitsch
A Brexit Party supporter at Olympia London, west London on May 21, Photo: TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images)
I was pretty annoyed when I read in the Evening Standard that the owner of Olympia regretted taking the booking for the Brexit Party rally on Tuesday night. He described the Brexit Party as being “right on the boundary” of what is acceptable.
As I sat there feeling mightily offended at these comments, a tweet from Ricky Gervais rolled onto my screen. It said “Somebody said a thing & people are furious’ This sort of clickbait headline should always be ignored because it’s rarely true. Usually, the truth is that 0.001% of people are furious & the rest of us couldn’t give a #~# & wouldn’t even know about it if you hadn’t printed it.”
He’s damn right. Jon Hitchcox wouldn’t have said a thing if the Evening Standard hadn’t gone to him for comment. But as a result he confirmed that Olympia is a venue which “believes in free speech and democracy” and that the £10,000 booking fee from the Brexit Party will go to two charities – one being the Barons Court Project which does an amazing job helping people vulnerable to mental ill health and homelessness. It’s good to know that the Brexit Party will be able to book the venue as often as we like, with the fee going to worthy charities each time.
It was also a snap chance for me to look back at myself sitting there feeling offended. There is no-one more self-absorbed than someone basking in being offended. Thanks to the sanity of Ricky Gervais I snapped out of that mood and bought my ticket for the rally.
A friend and I turned up an hour early to find a long line already snaking around the block. We finally got inside what turned out to be effectively a huge concrete bunker. (Next time we want the much more delightful Victorian Pillar Hall, please.) Nevertheless, the atmosphere was already cheerful. Everyone milled around with happy smiles on their faces. Pleased to be “out” as Leavers in the heavily Remain London, the overwhelming impression for me was the incredible organisation. A huge pile of posters was stacked neatly at the entrance with an organiser explaining they were for us to collect on the way out. There was a t-shirt on every chair, as well as a smaller poster for its new owner to wave about. Anyone not satisfied with these two extras could also claim a small flag. Just like any campaign I’ve been part of, the men squeezed into their new t-shirts, while the women tucked them away to use as pyjamas. The music was loud and feel-good.
When the rally got going the atmosphere was electric. Like drunks in a midnight choir we were able to unanimously shout out our lines on cue. What do we want? BREXIT. When do we want it? NOW. No deal is better than . . . A BAD DEAL! It was naff and we all had a great time. Human beings like being part of a crowd – especially when you’ve spent three years not being part of one.
The best part of the night was listening to Vaclav Klaus, the former President of the Czech Republic. He said the vote for Brexit was “not only your victory. It was a victory for all European democrats”. He said “We want to make decisions about ourselves in Prague, not in Brussels. It is that simple. All other interpretations are wrong”. He added: “You should give the rest of Europe a good example. Many Europeans need it and many are waiting. Do not disappoint them.” LOUD CHEERS.
Anne Widdecombe and Nigel Farage strutted their stuff. Farage made it clear again that we’re not stopping at the end of this week after the EU elections. He said “I’m asking you to vote for us on Thursday as the first step to fundamentally changing politics for good in this country. We are attempting . . . a peaceful political revolution in this country. It is needed. Are you with us?” YES!!!!!!
Okay – the whole thing was pretty kitsch. But these things always are. In fact if it did not hit kitsch it would have been a failure. Another great Czech, Milan Kundera, made a close study of kitsch, and political kitsch, in particular. Everyday kitsch “excludes everything from its purview which is essentially unacceptable in human experience”. The feeling induced by kitsch “must be a kind the multitudes can share”. “When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object. In the realm of kitsch, the dictatorship of the heart reigns supreme”. Kitsch must involve “being moved” but also thinking “how nice to be moved, together with all mankind!”
The height of Communist kitsch was the May Day parades where “even the most blase faces would beam with dazzling smiles, as if trying to prove they were properly joyful or, to be more precise, in proper agreement” Left-wing kitsch is the Protest March. Right-wing kitsch has recently been much rarer and has not gone beyond kissing babies for the camera.
The Brexit Party got its political kitsch, pitch perfect. We were all happy waving our banners and shouting in unison. Our hearts ruled our heads for the night and we had fun. But kitsch is not enough – now comes the hard part.
