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28 August 2006

My name is Charles, and I have been an alcoholic for years


Charles Kennedy, the former Liberal Democract leader, had been an alcoholic for years. Even back in 1999 when he was elected leader, he was an alcoholic. This is bad enough on it's own - the leader of the third largest political party in Britain being an alcoholic - but what is worse is that senior pary officials and MPs knew, and did nothing.

It has also been revealed by The Times that in July 2003, Kennedy was to go public with his drinking problem:

The group [of LibDem officials] knew that he [Charles Kennedy] was taking a risk [by going public about his alcoholism]. He planned to make clear that he would remain as leader; commentators would question his fitness to do so, and might subject him to endless questions about drinking. Henceforth he would be watched like a hawk for the slightest sign of a lapse. His inner circle calculated, however, that by making such a public admission he would stop the continual innuendo of press stories linking him to alcohol. He might even elicit public sympathy by finally being open about his condition.
But Kennedy pulled out because he slept on it and got cold feet. Which is understandable, really. If I was an alcoholic, I would not want to announce it to the world! After this, he was told by Matthew Taylor, the then parliamentary chairman of the Liberal Democrats: “The next time you pick up a drink, you give up being leader.” But it was not until two years later that Kennedy was removed from his high office.

Whilst alcoholism is a private matter and a problem for the individual, when a public figure such as a party leader is one, it becames a public problem. If Kennedy had not been Leader of teh Liberal Democrats, it would be no business of anyone whether or not he had had an alcohol problem. However, as the leader of the third party in British politics, it becomes a public issue. As an alcoholic, he should not have stood for such a position, or should have resigned as soon as it became clear that he could not kick the habit easily, or that being leader was causing him to drink heavily.

Source: The Times: article 1, article 2; Iain Dale

Posted by ThunderDragon @ 11:40 pm

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