Bono & the Canadian Prime Minister

[Gecko]

I just read an article about Bono asking the Canadian Prime Minister to boost foreign aid. He is quoted as saying this whilst standing next to Prime Minister Martin - "He's very difficult to deal with because he won't agree to things that he doesn't believe he can deliver, although that is very frustrating and annoying and infuriating". I am not commenting on whether Canada should or should not boost aid, but doesn't it make sense that your political leaders should not commit to something that they do not believe they deliver?

Whilst I do appreciate the efforts of these "stars" to raise awareness, I have to wonder about their ego's and how much influence they expect to have on politicians. Bono also reluctantly admitted he could not force Martin to change his mind. How many politicians actually take their advice from lead singers of rock bands?


Here is the full article (http://au.news.yahoo.com/050706/15/uzwr.html)

[gertdog]

I took it as a tongue-in-cheek comment, really something of a compliment to the Canadian PM- hey, this guy doesn't make promises he can't keep. It reads like the kind of comment you'd have to actually hear to interpret correctly, though, so no way of knowing if my interpretation is accurate!

I have mixed feelings in general about the role of celebrities in influencing government, but in Bono's case, this is certainly a specific cause he's been committed to for the long term, and the band has their own charitable organization dedicated to it, so I'm less likely to look at him as someone who knows zero about the issues he's speaking about, which is what I feel about many of the celebs-with-a-cause.