Given his
position and background, you might expect Prince Charles to be as condemning
and as self-righteous as our elected leaders, Cameron, Clegg, Johnson and
Lammy. You might expect him to wring his wrists and demand an Official Enquiry in much the same way as Labours’ Ed Miliband.
But somehow Charles and Camilla went off-script when they visited North East London last week and failed to appear outraged, brandishing broomsticks or thirsty to hunt down anyone (and their families) for taking part in the riots.
No, their approach was conciliatory. They listened. They shared and showed compassion - for those who lost their business and homes, for the police and for those now defined as thugs, gang members and looters. They even expressed empathy with todays' disaffected youth.
While the
Conservatives want to brand a generation of people criminals and the Labour
leader is willing to wait months to discover what many people in Tottenham and
Hackney already know, it’s obvious that Charles not only has more style than
all of them put together , but he also makes way more sense.
Last week the Conservatives announced a multimillion pound enterprise scheme to support and stimulate businesses in the affected areas. I'd say that's about as constructive as putting a plaster on a broken leg.- Charles, meanwhile, through his Princes Trust is giving 2.5 million pounds to support disaffected young people in some of those same areas. What Prince Charles sees as a symptomatic 'cry for help', the Government see as a call for a 'low tax, low regulation' stimulus strategy.
