Copy Hitler? We’d never stand for it
You report that a Ukip MEP told candidates to copy Hitler when giving speeches. He said they should delay speaking, pace up and down the platform and stare at the audience, building up tension and gaining attention.
David Cameron once referred to Ukip members as ‘fruitcakes’. And, to be fair, the party does seem to have its share of extremists. But, rather than dismissing those voters fed up with the status quo, the Prime Minister should ask himself the question: ‘Why?’ When millions of voters want Nigel Farage to be their voice, it proves the Government isn’t listening.
Outside of the ‘Westminster bubble’, uncontrolled immigration has been a disaster. People made to feel like strangers in their own country have lost faith in the three main parties. If all Cameron can offer is another ConservativeLiberal coalition, he’s finished. Ukip understands the mood of the nation. Cameron doesn’t.
As for Hitler, his oratorical tricks may have proved successful at the Nuremberg rallies, but such behaviour would fall flat in a British village hall.
Alan Aitchison, Wakefield Hitler’s success as an orator was due to the fact that he told the Germans what they wanted to hear – that he would bring prosperity and restore their national pride. When he achieved these he was virtually regarded as a living god and the grateful Germans hung on his every word, despite his ludicrous antics.
However, any politician who copied his style today would be booed off the stage.
Jonathan Smith, Surbiton, Surrey Ukip MEP Bill Etheridge was referring only to Hitler’s speaking abilities. There is nothing wrong in highlighting good points, even concerning an evil person such as Hitler. Public speaking was the one ability he had over and above the weak-willed politicians of today. To show future leaders how to speak in public is not a crime.
M. Connolly, King’s Lynn Out of all the party leaders, Nigel Farage is the only one who has the charisma and the guts to say what needs to be said, and because of this his speeches have been inspiring. So what is wrong with Ukip encouraging candidates to do the same?
Nigel Farage’s party continues to be hounded for any reason that can be dug up. It wasn’t so long ago that the three other parties were under the microscope concerning (among other things) some of their members’ fraudulent claims on their expenses, which still doesn’t appear to have been dealt with properly. There is no doubt about it – Farage has the other three parties on the run.
Hazel Walsh, Bognor Regis, West Sussex