My very first post on this blog, back in May 2008, was about the Eurovision 'Song Contest' - won in that year by Russia. Eight years later, the contest in Stockholm last night was lost by Russia, who had put a massive effort into their entry (a blast of surefire thermonuclear Europop with all the trimmings) and were confident of gaining 'soft power' (something that doesn't come altogether naturally to them) by winning. Instead, Ukraine - yes, Ukraine, why did it have to be Ukraine? - wiped the floor with them, seizing the Eurovision crown with an angry downbeat song harking back to 1944 (its title) and the forcible repatriation of Tatars by, er, the Soviet Union.
This is surely one of the maddest results ever, and the most overtly political. It looks as though, as far as 'Europe' is concerned, Russia has become the new America - or, by extension, the new UK, destined to annual humiliation. But at least we have the sense not to care - this is not our contest (though they increasingly use our language), this is not our music, this is not our world, this notional 'Europe'. I wonder if, this being the year of the Great Referendum, more people will join the dots and draw the obvious conclusion about our place in that other 'Europe'...
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In danger of sounding ever so slightly partisan there Nige after keeping you powder so scrupulously dry so far. After none so subtle interventions by Obama, the G20, the OECD, the Bank of England and the IMF if Nigeness adds its weight to the debate the outcome could be dangerously skewed and not representative of what the people really think!
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