The Smiles that Clean the System

Sometimes I wonder where all the money goes. Regularly, the EU, the US, the World Bank and other worthies announce multi-million Euro/Dollar loans, grants or investments in Albania. Much of this is directed to worthy causes - reforming infrastructure, reforming the police and criminal justice system, relieving poverty and the like. And slowly - very slowly in some cases - it does make a difference.

Still, you can't spend all your time building roads and tackling organised crime. Which was why I was delighted to come across a story from a few month's ago on the website of the British Embassy. It seems the good old Brits are helping Albanians develop their satirical skills. Four local journalists attended a seminar on satire in Zagreb last November. The Embassy press release explains the thinking behind the seminar:

One of British journalism's greatest traditional weapons in the battle against corruption and malpractice through five centuries has been the ability to laugh in the face of authority. From Thomas Nash to Defoe to Swift to Hazlitt to Bernard Levin (and even Richard Littlejohn), satire has been a prime tool in the journalist's armoury. What's officious and bullying can also be ridiculous. There is a whole British tradition built on this belief.

Journalists in other countries, of course, often use satire themselves in their struggles with authority. But the techniques and approaches can vary widely. The aim of the seminar in Zagreb - using British columnists, cartoonists and broadcasters of the highest reputation - was to share experiences, to identify new possibilities, and to help the laughter go and little wider, and deeper.

As I read this I couldn't help thinking of The Piranha Brothers. Luigi Vercotti described the brothers:

I had been running a successful escort agency - high class, no really, high class girls - we didn't have any of 'that' - that was right out. So I decided to open a high class night club for the gentry at Biggleswade with International cuisine and cooking and top line acts, and not a cheap clip joint for picking up tarts - that was right out, I deny that completely - and one evening in walks Dinsdale with a couple of big lads, one of whom was carrying a tactical nuclear missile.

They said I had bought one of their fruit machines and would I pay for it? They wanted three quarters of a million pounds. I thought about it and decided not to go to the Police as I had noticed that the lad with the thermonuclear device was the chief constable for the area. So a week later they called again and told me the cheque had bounced and said... I had to see... Doug.

Well, I was terrified. Everyone was terrified of Doug. I've seen grown men pull their own heads off rather than see Doug. Even Dinsdale was frightened of Doug. He used... sarcasm. He knew all the tricks, dramatic irony, metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, litotes and... satire. He was vicious.

For those of you who are completely lost at this point, The Piranha Brothers was a Monty Python sketch. You can see the whole of the sketch in two parts on YouTube. Start with part 1 for the whole sketch, move on to part 2 for Luigi's contribution.

Personally I think this is a great idea and as a British citizen and taxpayer I would like the FCO and the British Embassy to know that I fully approve this way of spending my money.