Tag: Convolvulus

To understand the current political frenzy on both sides of the Atlantic, it helps to know Tortuous Convolvulus. Unfamiliar with his work? Convolvulus was a spy, operating around 50BC, a specialist in psychological warfare. On a recent trip to the US I was struck by how engaged officials were with the question of a Kremlin-sponsored Brexit It is worth adding that Convolvulus is a character from Asterix and the Roman Agent, a book known to most English readers in translation by Anthea Bell. In the absence of an equivalent investigation in Britain, it is hard to know how much energy the Kremlin has put into influencing our own politics, but there are no prizes for guessing which side Vladimir Putin rooted for in the Brexit battle. The New York Times has given it more prominence than most UK media. One report said London was “grappling with whether Moscow tried to use its close ties with any British citizens to promote Brexit”. He is a political gangster running a dysfunctional state for whom vilification abroad can be useful in burnishing his credentials as the strongman at home. The key question is not whether meddling tipped the balance for Brexit or Trump, since that is unquantifiable, but what in those campaigns suited Russian foreign policy goals. It is the state of British politics flailing around in its Brexit quagmire.