#Bristol Councillor's #Hamas Remarks: A 'Greener' Outrage Further Ignites Bristol Politics.
In the ongoing saga that has the Bristol Green Party and Bristol City Council at loggerheads, a Cotham councillor waits patiently for an apology that Councillor Eddy insists will never come.
(Image: BBC)
Another Week, Another Outrage.
Well, who'd have thought it? Just when you thought the week couldn't get more interesting, the saga of Bristol's finest political commentator, Councillor Richard Eddy, continues. It seems my last blog post on the matter was but a prelude to a larger, more dramatic performance, perfectly capturing the essence of Bristol news.
The latest episode sees a new player enter the ring: Councillor Mohamed Makawi. Makawi? Didn't Sir Rod Stewart sing about him? You know the one, don't'ya, 'What Made Makawi Famous Made A Loser Out Of Me'? Yes, that one! Though, probably not one for Richard Eddy's current playlist, I would imagine. But still, let this update continue.
He's stepped forward—and not Cllr Eddy, mind you, for he's already had his say—but someone else with the kind of political bluster befitting a current August day of such lovely, seasonal weather. It is Councillor Mohamed Makawi, and his contribution to the discourse appears to be a genuine, week-long-simmering sense of outrage. He waited. He waited for a full seven days until he could not possibly become any Greener, and for an apology that, in a shocking twist of events, never came. And who among us could possibly have foreseen that a man who compares a local school to a terrorist organisation would not immediately retract his statements?
Makawi's condemnation is a masterpiece of political communication, echoing sentiments across the city about Bristol politics. A prominent member of the Bristol Green Party, he describes the remarks as "disgraceful," "utterly unacceptable," and a "vile distortion." He rightly points out that Cotham School is a "School of Sanctuary," a place that welcomes children from all backgrounds, including refugees and migrants. To equate such an institution with a proscribed organisation is, as he puts it, "a gross insult to the values we hold dear as a city." He's speaking for the people, for the children, and for the very soul of Bristol.
But fear not, for Councillor Eddy remains a bastion of consistency. He's not one of those "plasticine politicians" who would dare to apologise. No, he "says what he thinks" and "does what he says." And what he thinks is that he was "absolutely correct" and "completely justified" in his remarks. He's disappointed—but not surprised—by the "knee-jerk" reactions of his colleagues. The man has a spine of steel and a mouth to match. He's a maverick, a lone wolf in the wilderness of political correctness, unafraid to speak his truth, no matter how inflammatory or divorced from reality it may be. Now, whether you like or agree with Cllr Eddy on this, or any other matter, he is one of the few in Bristol City Council politics to not 'u-turn' on whatever he says, unlike so many others we could all mention. He sticks with his convictions, regardless of public opinion, a quality all politicians should adopt.
And so the stage is set. We have Councillor Makawi, a leading voice for the Bristol Green Party, standing firmly with the students and staff, calling for dignity over division. And we have Councillor Eddy, standing firmly by his guns, believing that he is in the right. The Conservative Group leader, meanwhile, remains eerily silent, perhaps waiting for a new script to be written. One must wonder if this is a familiar scene for Cllr Mark Weston, as past controversies involving Cllr Eddy have also been met with a degree of radio silence from the top. The ongoing dispute over the Stoke Lodge playing fields continues to be a hot topic for those following Bristol Live news.
The question now is, what will be the next act in this unfolding drama? Will there be a formal complaint? Will the silent leader finally speak? Or will we just have to wait for another weekly instalment of "As Bristol Turns: The Political Satire Edition"? Stay tuned.
Previously………….
