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MichaelMeckler.com: Blog: Sir Malcolm Rifkind

Sir Malcolm Rifkind

25 FEBRUARY 2015

I tend not to comment on political events overseas, but I couldn't help but say a few words about former British Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind's announcement that he would not seek re-election to Parliament after an undercover media investigation filmed him allegedly discussing being paid for his influence.

I have been deeply troubled by the episode, especially as it contrasts with the individual whose acquaintance I made three decades ago. Back when I was a student at the University of Edinburgh, I got to know Sir Malcolm, a member of Parliament who at that time had not yet been knighted or held a cabinet-level position.

Although described in recent years as a Tory grandee, Rifkind did not come from a privileged background. His political achievements came by dint of intelligence and hard work, which earned him the favor of then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher even though he did not really share her political outlook. He was, in those days, a supporter of some form of Scottish devolution, even though he had to tread carefully on what he said and was occasionally compelled to pull back publicly from that support.

And the person I met in those days had a sincere and genuine concern for his hometown of Edinburgh, for Scotland, and for serving in government to improve the lives of ordinary people. And even after losing his seat in Parliament in 1997, he initially tried to remain in politics in Scotland, though by that time, Scotland had largely repudiated all things Tory.

I haven't seen him in person or had any contact with him since the late 1990s, and today he would have no idea who I am. But the person on the undercover video seems alien to the younger politician I met three decades ago.

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