On 6/9/22 11:11, Jonathan Clark - jonathan at att.net (via tml list) wrote:
> <snip>
>
> I posit that the same sort of mechanism exists - radical political
> changes being pretty rare in Vilani-land :-)
>
> BTW, the best introductions to UK politics are the TV series 'Yes,
> Minister' and 'Yes, Prime, Minister'.
>
> Jonathan
>

One of the exchanges I most remember from (iirc) Season 1 of "Yes,
Minister" (Jim Hacker is the titular Minister (of Administrative
Affairs), and Sir Humphrey Appleby is the department secretary):

HACKER: "Humphrey, do you see it as your job to help ministers make
fools of themselves?"

APPLEBY: "I haven't met one who _needed_ any help."

And, from "Party Games", the special linking the two series, chronicling
the rise of the Rt Hon James Hacker, First Lord of the Treasury. (ie,
Prime Minister)  Sir Humphrey (now Cabinet Secretary) is having dinner
with his predecessor, Sir Arnold Robinson, in order to engineer a
compromise candidate for PM. Hacker's principal private secretary,
Bernard Woolley, lobs with some residual DAA business.

APPLEBY: "Bernard, just let me ask you something... what would you say
to your present master as the next Prime Minister?"

WOOLLEY WTFs.

WOOLLEY: "The Minister?"

APPLEBY: "Yes."

WOOLLEY: "Mister Hacker?"

APPLEBY: "Yes."

WOOLLEY: "As Prime Minister?"

APPLEBY: "Yes."

WOOLLEY: **checks watch**

APPLEBY: "Are you in a hurry?"

WOOLLEY: "No, I'm checking it see it wasn't April the first."