Chris 'riding high on the hog' but don't you get ideas!

There’s an added media bonus for me today on the mainstream media in the Manx Radio video portal. The good thing about the mainstream is you get ‘the facts’ from them not the ‘fake news’ Chief Minister Howard Quayle MHK tells us that people ‘with their own agenda’ (like me) are peddling on social media - while he pulls one of those curious inflective grimaces.

In the portal Minister for Reform Chris Thomas MHK is being interviewed about GDP. It’s the clip I heard as I whiled away my time on the way home earlier in the day. However he’s not being interviewed by Howard Caine its one of the younger ‘Harry Potter’ lookalikes. Howard C is probably of looking for Wallaby roadkill or such like.

The piece is ‘factual’ (chuckle) and Chris, who seems to have had a good holiday by the looks of him, rattles away like a german machine gunner slaughtering the British cavalry at Mons. Everything is going well says Chris although ‘Harry’ does intervene to try and bring some balance by pointing out bits of the economy the wheel has fallen off. Chris breezes this aside - I muse if this was social media questioning the grand plan the assembled COMIN choir would be chanting ‘fake news’ by now.

‘Harry Potter’ does his best to pin Chris on a point or two but ‘Irving R Levine’ he ‘ain’t’ and anyway Thomas has changed the belt on his machine gun.

Of course I don’t believe it. I feel like one of those people who attended a pre WW2 totalitarian political rally when everyone was cheering who isn’t carried along by the moment. Why can’t I believe the great COMIN/CHAMBER success story - the master plan - it's obvious I’m a misfit! It’s plainly for all our good and yet all I see are the Chamber getting wealthier - there’s something wrong with me...obviously! Even Manx Radio believe in it they’ve joined the Chamber - may be that’s the problem. I’m clutching at straws it’s got to be me!

Chris is talking about ‘trickle up’ economics and I muse their certainly is something trickling this is a load of ….

He also broaches the subject of tax and I conclude he must know I will watch this and wants to ensure I have ‘a thrombo’. The factors most likely to induce apoplexy in me are mention of Treasury Minister Alf Cannan MHK, his income tax buddy or the tax system.

Still with GDP up 7.4% surely I’m going to notice an improvement in my fortunes! Not necessarily says Chris. So it was ‘fake news’ all along.

Despite all the wondrous things that COMIN pontificate on about I wouldn't turn the thermostat up just yet or splash out on that extravagance you’ve been missing - like food.

Chris certainly looks as if he's been ‘riding high on the hog’ but that won’t necessarily translate to ‘happy days are here again’ for you or me. Indeed the only negative for Chris is the ghastly funeral music that is the portal intro someone should talk to them about that.

As I turn away from the false bonhomie of the portal Christine Lagarde of the IMF pops up in the side panel of my email warning of dark economic clouds ahead for the global economy - don’t tell Chris!

Image: Chris Thomas like a machine gunner at Mons he even changes the belt halfway through the interview!

Bernard Moffatt