Up With Ken

It's refreshing to realize that all politicians don't think and act alike. The overwhelming majority are fairly bland and boring, with perfect hair, teeth and pretty, sleepy words for their adoring audiences. Our robotic prime minister is an extreme example of this species.

Then there's Ken Livingstone. The immensely popular Lord Mayor of London, England has made waves with two recent comments. On one occasion, he likened a Jewish reporter to a Nazi concentration camp guard and in the latest he referred to the US ambassador to the United Kingdom as a "chiselling little crook". In the former case, he has been formally censured and is appealing this decision and it is expected that the latter will be no different.

Livingstone has always been different. When the Labour Party rejected his pioneering temperament as mayor, he left the party, ran as an independent and won the contest comfortably over his rivals in the major parties. Freshly elected, Livingstone introduced a congestion charge on vehicles in London's zone 1. Now seen as a model for other cities dealing with traffic problems, at the time Livingstone was criticized for legislating outside the box. Recently Tony Blair begged Livingstone to return to the Labour Party, which he did on his own terms. If that weren't enough, Livingstone continues to berate his own party for the Iraq invasion given the chance.

His recent comments regarding the American ambassador regard the diplomat's decision to decline paying the congestion charge. Given all the Hummers the embassy no doubt maintains this would probably help the UK pay down its national debt. Judge for yourself whether the ambassador is a "crook", what cannot be doubted is that Ken Livingstone is a rarity in politics: a true leader.