Murdoch Still Mulling It

So who will take over from Tony Blair? Rupert Murdoch isn't saying:

"Gordon [Brown] has a Calvinistic approach to life, and there is a lot to be said for it," the media mogul said in the weekly magazine's October 16 issue.

"The question is, is he such a micromanager that he'd want to interfere with everything in the country? And does he still believe that the state can run everything better than private enterprise?

"He's not an old-style Labour socialist, but how much would he let the private sector get involved in health care and education - that will be the test."

Got that, Gordon? If not, let me make it a little clearer:

Asked which candidate he would support in the next general election expected in 2009, Murdoch said, "It will depend entirely on Gordon's performance - and on the state of Britain."

Oh, yes! The state of Britain. And how is Britain looking today, Mr Murdoch?

"It has become totally hedonistic. The churches were never much, but what was there has collapsed. You go anywhere in England, when it's not raining, and there's a cluster of people outside every pub, until 10 or 11 at night, boozing.

"The increase in alcohol consumption is pretty alarming."

Maybe it's got something to do with the culture, which you yourself have helped drag down into the depths of militant, racist nationalism, Rupe. Maybe it's got something to do with that war, which you helped start.