Governing the serfs, placating the nobles and rewarding all your loyal knights is no easy task.
The King (or Queen) sometimes need a good laugh.
And what better way to have one than get someone to write speeches and pen jokes just for you … and have your subjects pay for it!
Henry II had his Court Jester, who was named Roland the Farter; Mary, Queen of Scots had Nichola, imported from France; and Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I all had one of the most famous and enduring … Will Sommers, a very keen wit, who sometimes, though, went too far:
“Sommers once told how Henry VIII, unhappy at some of his banter, smacked him so hard that it knocked him ‘through three chambers’, and down ‘four pair of stairs’,” according to the UK History website: (Read the list of Official British fools here: https://www.history.co.uk/articles/britains-most-famous-court-jesters).
Today’s political royalty apparently need jesters too!
Premier David Eby has hired a speech writer/comedian, for $165 an hour … paid for by the taxpayers. (https://www.vicnews.com/news/bc-premier-eby-has-comedian-speechwriter-on-contract-for-150k-8254831)
““Today, for example, I’m delivering five speeches,” Eby explained. “I’d love to be able to write my own speeches like I used to, but I do need support to be able to respond to each event.”
““David Eby’s not the first premier of British Columbia that I’ve written for,” says the Premier’s personal scribe, Charles Demers. “I wrote for John Horgan, although for John Horgan I did only write jokes,” Demers was quoted on CTV News.
“His current contract allows him potentially to make a maximum of $300,000 over four years,” CTV reported. (https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/conservatives-accuse-bc-premier-of-spending-up-to-450k-on-comedian-to-write-speeches/)
Laughing yet?
Maybe not if you’re a BC taxpayer who just learned this year’s “adjusted” deficit will be $11.6 BILLION … worse than even during the COVID crisis … and the kingdom’s total debt has now hit $155 BILLION … up $20 BILLION since last year.
Hilarious?
Well, try to be of good cheer…
Eby has never impressed me as an “easy” laugh guy … or even much of a smiler … so Demers may help!
And unlike Henry VIII, Eby won’t likely physically assault, behead or draw and quarter Demers if he’s not happy with his work: it would not score well in polling … or with NDP focus groups.
But the Premier can rest assured that if he does pull a Henry VIII reaction … and gets arrested, it’s BC!!! He’ll be out of jail in a couple of hours, after a nap, a taxpayer-funded lunch, and Crown Counsel will decide not to proceed with charges … so he’ll be free to do it again, and again, and again.
However, BC’s Auditor General may have some questions:
How many “professionals” already work in the Premier’s Communications office?
Can’t any of them write speeches? Don’t any of them have a sense of humour?
How will Mr. Demers’ productivity be measured?
At $165 an hour, can the public expect two jokes per hour … or just one?
Does each laugh generated have to audible? Do two chuckles and a snicker count as one laugh? Does a guffaw qualify for a bonus?
And, what is Mr. Demers annual travel budget … you know, to attend Commonwealth Comedian/Speechwriters’ Conferences/Conventions … preferably in Europe during the Summer and the Caribbean during the Winter?
Who knows … the Premier may soon have us all rolling in the aisles!
But how are we to know when to laugh?
Will Eby be serious … or just joking … when he next tells us his government is eliminating hospital emergency closures, increasing “affordable” housing and making our streets safe?
Harv Oberfeld
(Follow @harveyoberfeld on “X” for FREE First Alerts to new postings on this blog.)