Soixante Huitard (2)

The French have an expression for which there is no direct equivalent in English - a Soixante Huitard. This translates literally as a sixty-eighter  and applies to 1968 and those whose primary cultural experience was the sixties - sex, drugs and rock n' roll. This is not necessarily an age thing - though baby boomers tend to be Soixante Huitards. Those who lived through the war tend not to be.

 

Tony Blair was Soixante Huitard to his toe nails. Gordon Brown was not - and it made him profoundly unsuited to being prime minister. Remind you of anyone? It is hard to imagine that Theresa May ever smoked a joint. One can't imagine her and Philip listening to even the Stones when they are at home. Her choice of Desert Island discs was illuminating - only two 'pop' choices, and they were Abba and the Jersey Boys. There's nothing wrong with not being a Soixante Huitard - but it does explain why she conspicuously fails to connect with young people. She will almost certainly win - but you can't help wondering if the current election wobble is down to the intuition amongst the electorate that she is not - at a very deep level - of the modern world.