WHO would have imagined squeaky-clean George Osborne as anti-hero Mark Renton from Trainspotting?
The unlikely comparison popped into my head after the Chancellor used a form of words eerily reminiscent of the opening scene of the hit film, based on Irvine Welsh's gritty novel.
In that heroin addict Renton, being chased down the High Street, notes ironically: "Choose life; choose mortgage payments; choose washing machines; choose cars; choose sitting on a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows..."
Yesterday, more composed and certainly without irony or expletives, the Chancellor ended his speech by declaring: "Choose jobs; choose enterprise; choose security; choose prosperity; choose investment; choose fairness; choose freedom; choose David Cameron; choose the Conservatives; choose the future."
Any attempt at further comparisons between the Tory frontbench and the other characters in the story - the sociopath Begbie, the amoral con artist "sick boy" and the naive "spud" Murphy - fails miserably; although if I thought long enough I'm sure I could come up with one or two suggestions.
For the most part, the Chancellor's final speech before the General Election was themed: despite all the siren voices, I told you so; I'd turn round the economy.
Needless to say, the audience was in the palm of George's hand.
The Chancellor managed to mention the deficit several times. Indeed, he could not resist the open goal that was Ed Miliband's memory loss moment. "But I have to tell you," he added with more earnestness, "that forgetting to talk about the deficit is not just some hapless mistake; it is completely and totally a disqualification for the high office he seeks."
The audience loved it.
Of course, the big underlying message was, not to quote Renton: choose the Tories, not Labour.
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