“What does; one has-been, say to; another has-been?”
“How dare you call me a has-been. I am still an active member of the community and….”
“Why do you take everything personally? Besides, if I am referring to you as a has-been then surely I am putting myself in the same place and….”
“Well…..you’re being a has-been; is believable and….”
“That’s such a sub-continental thing to say – pull someone down, but you know that doesn’t automatically raise you if you know what I mean. Anyway, the has-been; that I was referring to, is Starmer and…and can you guess, who is the other has-been?”
“Well Germany’s Merz is also very unpopular….”
“You have to give German Chancellors their due. Pushing a vibrant economy into deindustrialisation by refusing to buy cheap Russian fuel….”
“And blowing up the pipeline….”
“I thought Biden of the US….”
“Yeah but they could have mended it. Anyway it’s a classic riches to rags story right.”
“I thought the expression is the other way round.”
“Germany needs a hybrid system like ours.”
“And you define hybrid as?”
“Someone with one leg in civilian and another in the military….”
“I get it, but the key is which leg is the dominant one?”
“Anyway for the first time in history Germany was not voted to become a member of the UN Security Council, courtesy unwavering support for Israel and….and….”
“And Germany did not even make it to quarterfinals in the Football competition…”
“Oh does Germany’s Interior Minister….”
“Shut up …”
“But don’t you have to be a blood relative….”
“Told you to shut up.”
“OK, I will put up in the famous words of John Major.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026