Reading the Runes

Making sense of the work of our politicians is only possible if you consider all the contradictory strands of their job. Then what looks like unreliability and concealment becomes honourable compromise. MPs cope with contradictions through riffs, rhythms and rituals. But some contradictions at the core of our democracy are unresolvable. If we fail to appreciate the paradox in which MPs find themselves, then we are doomed to misunderstand them.