Yes Prime Minister - S01E06 - A Victory for Democracy - Part 1

[F00tballM0nkey]

Is it just me or does the video get stuck at about 4.06

[paya111]

fits for world's superpowers and Libya today

[augustodunensis]

Sir Humphrey and Sir Richard make a marvellous double act. Too bad Donald Pickering always remained a somewhat obscure actor - he's really good...

[bakidk]

@CassandraMercy I'm currently studying to become a teacher at grammar school level, majoring in English and History, and I intend to utilize this as well as both Blackadder and Monty Python as part of the educational process.

[SIGURDOYVIND]

@bakidk Very good choice

[grahamsmith1907]

What superb political dialogue. Thank you for uploading

[stoprainingonme]

"Are you saying Britain should not support law and justice?"

"Of course we should. We just shouldn't let effect our foreign policy"

[spiderlime]

i wonder if members of the civil service know, that attempts to maintain the status-quo at all cost usually lead to stagnation and collapse of their countries.

[asmodeus585]

@spiderlime: I gather that the Soviet's civil service didn't know about that...

[jradetzky]

@spiderlime how do you dare to suggest such an idea!!!??? #LOL

[amoralis123]

"Now don't be silly." it is so true at that level. A government shall only instruct its Ambassador to act what the Foreign Office has advised/recommended to the government in the first place. Neither Foreign Policy nor Foreign Affairs are cut and dry, because, world affairs are not cut and dry. They change all the time. One does or says something and the ripple go a long way resulting unwanted events that can go out of hand. 'We don't want that, do way?' said a very famous ......

[amoralis123]

International Affairs have no rights or wrongs. It is all a matter of 'horse trading'. "Small nations do what they can?" said a very high official: "big nations do what they want?" It was true during Hammurabi's times, it is true today. Present situation in the Middle East is the prime example of "Good Will Missions".

[TheJboy88]

This episode always makes me think whether or not it is right to intervene on behalf of a foreign nation in the name of right and wrong or whether or not it would be better just to stay back in the name of national interests. Does anyone else have an opinion on this matter?

[FaxModem1]

@TheJboy88 'Its a slippery slope'.

Seriously though, its a no win situation for a lot of people involved. The countries being invested view themselves as puppets, the countries going in as puppet masters, and the citizens as helpless. On the opposite side, if one does nothing, you're viewed as selfish, uncaring and unwilling to do anything.

[TheJboy88]

There is, of course, the other vital point that if people send troops to countries halfway across the world that no-one in your country has heard of to fight and die in the name of a nation that has no impact on you're home nation, people will say you have no regard for you're own people.

[tareekhnawees]

Just keep to national interest and that should get you everywhere and everything, it seams to be the wrong that is right

[napamaakari]

Precisely. Example from year 2010: Church of Finland is about to choose a new archbishop and the candidates are exactly like the ones in S01E07 "The Bishops Gambit", an extremist and a modernist. Hilarious...

[MrSelidor7]

Enlightened Monk is so right. There is hardly an episode of YM or YPM that is not as valid and topical today as the day it was released.

[AndrewJimScott]

Ronnie did always composs the best theme tunes and the opening titles for these series were very good.

Rip ronnie

[hanes3777]

How prescient.  Britain would send troops to Afghanistan around 15 years later

[niemanickurwa]

Yeah, there's a lot of prophecy in this show

[EnlightenedMonk]

In general there's quite a bit of prophecy as well as hindsight in this show as with any other political show. Because the basic nature of politics just doesn't change whichever day and age you live in. The political lessons of yesteryears are still applicable now and will be for the foreseeable future. What endeared this show to everybody else was that it took a humourous and sometimes sarcastic view of politics...

[Makwange]

Sounds like something Sir Humphrey Appleby, albeit sarcastically, would say.

[EnlightenedMonk]

I'm a big fan :-D

[CashOnTheNail1955]

foresight, looking for Sir Humphrey boasting we joined the Common Market [EU] to cause maximum-damage pitching the French against the Germans, Italians against the French...

[bennlanglands]

@niemanickurwa smoke screen springs to mind. And the financial crisis and trident.

[shafichy]

Yes. Except that it's in the capacity of fighting the weak for the strongest.

[YoungBrigand]

@hanes3777 Yes, but not to fight the Russians who were "too strong" but only to fight with the ill-equipped Taliban after the country was already decimated by 20+ years of war and destruction.