Knowing less as we know more

As I mentioned, Lula is in town for a state visit. Typical that it should happen more than 2 years after I left working in Parliament. State visits mean that all party leaders meet the visiting leader and I had hopes that I would be able to brief Charles Kennedy on Lula, the PT and Brazilian politics in general before that meeting. Maybe even get a chance to meet the man himself.

Since then Kennedy’s gone (more to come on that) and Lula and the PT have been embroiled in scandal over the alleged bribery of politicians. Brazil figures more prominently in the news, owing to the Stockwell shooting last year and the growing number of Brazil-themed events here in the UK.

Clearly, I’m not needed!

Still, it was surreal listening to Gilberto Gil, the culture minister, on Today this morning. What wasn’t he asked to talk about? The Stockwell shooting, the rise of the left in Latin America, implications for Washington, Amazonian deforestation and how he manages to gig and govern at the same time.

On that last point, it was a shame that no-one at the BBC thought to ask him about the month-long strikes that took place in culture-financed museums, libraries and galleries across the country last year.