Since the announcement of the Live 8 concerts to raise awareness of africa’s plight amongst world leaders (as if they don’t already know about it) Irish rocker Sir Bob Geldof has shown one thing -- he’s no Bono.
Geldof shot to international fame 20 years ago with his Live aid concerts to raise money for victims of the famine in africa that claimed lives in Ethiopia and surrounding regions. The concerts that will be held next Saturday in various venues around the world are not being staged for the purpose of raising money; rather they are an attempt to get countries of the developed world to increase their foreign aid budgets.
When it comes to celebrities having political smarts, Geldof comes much closer to Barbra Streisand that he does or ever will come to Bono. The comments that he made directed to Prime Minister Paul Martin were typically Streisandesque. Streisand as you may remember lectured George Bush about Iraq while not being able to tell the difference between that country and Iran. She gave lengthy written political advice to former Democratic Party House leader Richard Gephardt while having absolutely no idea how to spell his name. The only difference between Geldof and Streisand is that Babs is a much better singer. and no one can ever accuse Sir Bob of having starred in Yentl.
Back in the olden days when Lester Pearson was prime minister he set a target of .7 per cent of GDP as the amount that should be directed towards foreign aid. Canada is a long way away from meeting that target and Prime Minister Paul Martin has set the year 2015 and the time when the .7 per cent figure should finally be achieved. In response Martin’s refusal to commit to doubling foreign aid now, Geldof said, "There’s no use your prime minister coming to Scotland [for the G8 meeting] unless he’s prepared to do this deal. If he’s not prepared, stay at home, just stay at home, don’t come."
Canadians should be upset at Geldof’s remarks. Who is Geldof to tell Martin not to attend the G8? The has-been rocker is not officially involved with the meeting; it involves the leaders of the countries that make up the group and is being hosted this year by British PM Tony Blair. Geldof’s statements clearly show what an inflated ego he has and the aging star seems to have delusions of grandeur regarding his importance in the governance of countries like Canada.
To paraphrase Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Paul Martin may be a corrupt, lying idiot, but he’s our corrupt, lying idiot. For a foreigner to make the comments that he did insult not only Paul Martin but the entire country. Geldof has no right to tell Canadians that their prime minister has no business attending the G8 meeting because Geldof is upset.
Sir Bob singled out Canada for his venom because according to the politically naïve has-been, Canada is the only country in the Group of 8 that has a surplus. Well, that’s not entirely true. The federal government has a surplus that was gained by slashing transfer payments to the provinces that in turn were forced to download services to the municipalities. The true financial state of Canada cannot be considered by merely looking at the federal surplus; provincial deficits and under funded municipalities must also be taken into account. But we can’t expect Sir Babs to know all this.
Geldof’s immature comments should be contrasted with remarks on the same issue that were made by Bono. What separates Bono from the vast majority of Canadians is that he has been personally lied to by Paul Martin; most of us have to with being lied to second hand. So what did Bono have to say about Paul’s deceit about foreign aid? Bono said that he was disappointed; a calm and respectful response to the situation.
Many Canadians, especially those who would cry "sovereignty, sovereignty" if an american made a comment similar to Geldof’s, have remained silent after Geldof dissed both the prime minister and the country. after all they’re getting a free concert and can take solace in the fact that they can delude themselves that africa will somehow be better off after next weekend.
as far as Geldof is concerned, he is not, nor will he ever be, in the same league as Bono.