It may indeed have been cold medicine. But Shoichi Nakagawa has still had to resign after his drunken performance at the G7.
As he nurses his aching head, he may well be thinking that in politics, prohibition works best (unless you’re Winston Churchill that is).
Comment Central rounds up those politicians who’ve had a run in with the bottle.
George Brown: The former Foreign Secretary set the standard for drunken gaffes during a trip to Peru. Rumour has it that his attempt to ask a figure in purple to dance met with the following:
No, First you are drunk. Second, this is not a waltz. It is the Peruvian national anthem. And third, I am not a woman. I am the Cardinal Archbishop of Lima.
Ouch. Things did not improve for Brown when he drunkenly shouted at Harold Wilson. He resigned soon afterwards. His legacy? The phrase ‘tired and emotional.’
Boris Yeltsin:
As drunken contests go, Yeltsin was the Michael Phelps of politicians.
There was the time he couldn’t get off the plane in Ireland, his stumbles on the podium and, of course, that moment when he decided to have a go at conducting a passing military band.
Some argue that he had a neurological disorder, which meant that even a little bit of alcohol knocked him sideways. Others counter that concealing vodka as cough medicine suggests a somewhat larger problem.
Aneurin Bevan:
Deny. Deny. Deny. That was Bevan’s policy when he read about his drunken antics with Morgan Phillips and Richard Crossman at a Venice conference. The three men sued the Spectator for libel and won.
Years later, Crossman’s diaries confirmed that they had indeed been as inebriated as suggested. And that was saying something. This gem came from the barman in the original report:
If only I had four clients like Mr Bevan I could set up a bar on my own.
Winston Churchill:
When Churchill was sent out to cover the Boer War, he packed the following: 18 bottles of scotch, 36 bottles of wine and 6 bottles of brandy. This set the theme for the rest of his career.
Churchill famously refused to give up alcohol to set an example to the troops, though he was strict about the importance of not having hard liquor before breakfast. Ultimately, he concluded:
I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.
Richard Nixon:
Drinking was the least of Nixon’s problems but it certainly made life harder for his staff. Recently released transcripts detail a harried Kissinger dealing with the Arab-Israeli war in 1973. At one point, Ted Heath’s office rang to talk to Nixon about what should be done:
“Can we tell them no?” Kissinger asked his assistant, Brent Scowcroft, who had told him of the urgent request. “When I talked to the president, he was loaded.”
Kevin Rudd:
Forget about drink-driving. Australia is now getting tough on drink-voting. Following several tipsy episodes, politicians may now be breathalysed before they cast their ballots.
Even their PM, the normally sober Kevin Rudd, faced embarrassment in 2007 over a tipsy trip to a New York strip club. His predecessor John Howard also confessed to addressing Parliament while somewhat the worse for wear. The culprit?
I had a couple of South Australian reds … I remember that night, yes
H.H. Asquith:
The former PM was fond of his liquor. Known as ‘Squiffy’ for most of his life, rumour has it that Margot once tried to dilute his brandy in an attempt to curb his drunkenness.
Asquith’s antics even inspired his very own drinking song. The BBC reports on the popularity of the following little number during his tenure:
Mr Asquith says in a manner sweet and calm: Another little drink won’t do us any harm.
Charles Kennedy:
Kennedy soared into the public eye when he became the youngest MP in the Commons. By 1994 he was Leader of the Liberal Democrats. But rumours of his drunkenness persisted. He received an apology from the BBC after Jeremy Paxman asked if he drank
‘by yourself, a bottle of whisky late at night.’
But his political career faltered when he was forced to admit that he had indeed received treatment for alcoholism.
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Full article and photos: http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2009/02/as-shoichi-naka.html
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