Few politicians can whip up a crowd - and generate controversy - quite like George Galloway.In a career spanning four decades, he has been hailed as a
Few politicians can whip up a crowd – and generate controversy – quite like George Galloway.
In a career spanning four decades, he has been hailed as a hero of the anti-war left, ridiculed as a reality TV contestant on Celebrity Big Brother and elected to Parliament seven times for three different parties.
In the 1990s, he was heavily criticised for meeting Iraq’s leader Saddam Hussein and telling him – in a much-repeated clip – “Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability”. His multiple visits to the region during the period led to him being dubbed the “member for Baghdad Central”.
The 69-year-old’s latest political comeback, in Rochdale, shows he has not lost his appetite for a fight – or his talent for riling his opponents.
As he has done in previous by-elections, he mainly targeted his message at Muslim voters, promising, in this case, to be a powerful advocate for Palestinians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
And he also took aim at the entire political and media establishment, accusing Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer of “collaborating” in the Israel-Gaza war.
Read our profile here.
www.bbc.co.uk
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