London (AFP) – Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart have added political podcast stars to their already long resumes.
Tony Blair's former press secretary and ex-Conservative minister made waves on “The Rest Is Politics”, proving that civil disagreements can happen in an increasingly polarised world.
Millions of listeners know the introduction and upbeat music.
Episodes are around 40 minutes long and currently focus primarily on the UK general election on July 4th, which the Labour Party is expected to win after 14 years of Conservative rule.
The June 18 edition also covered the political situation in France, including President Emmanuel Macron's decision to hold early parliamentary elections, as well as an analysis of the European Football Championship.
Although the show deals with serious issues, the tone is often light-hearted, with “Alastair” and “Rory” calling each other by their first names, asking questions and making jokes about each other.
The podcast, which launched in early 2022, is one of the most listened to podcasts in the UK, with each episode downloaded approximately 600,000 times.
It has been downloaded 13 million times this month, mostly in the UK but also in Australia, the US, Germany and France.
The show came about when Campbell, 67, who was press secretary to Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair from 1997 to 2007, was approached by a friend about starting a podcast with Conservative members.
“I've spent most of my life trying to destroy the Conservative party! And I don't actually have many Conservative friends,” he replied.
He eventually changed his mind.
“The debate has become so polarised and angry that I thought a podcast where I could debate Conservatives but in a less upsetting way might work,” he told AFP in French.
He still needed to find a Conservative member, and his social media followers recommended Rory Stewart, with whom he had exchanged views during the Brexit campaign, which they both opposed.
'Dangerous populist'
With the UK election looming, political pundits are producing multiple shows a week.
Stewart, who was Eton and Oxford educated and served as tutor to heir to the throne, Prince William, and his younger brother, Prince Harry, attributed the podcast's success to “the dynamic between us”.
The 51-year-old former diplomat and Conservative MP served as international development secretary under Theresa May's government and retired from politics after challenging Boris Johnson for the Conservative leadership in 2019.
“I believe in tradition and history and the monarchy, and he (Campbell) is a very far-left republican,” he said.
“People like the idea of looking at the world through two different and opposing lenses – the idea of multiple perspectives.
“He's very posh,” added Campbell, the former political editor of the Daily Mirror. “He's a friend of the King. It's a world I don't know really.”
But the two also have something in common: “We're both very concerned about populism and we both agree that Britain should move closer to the European Union,” Stewart said.
They want an end to the current Conservative government.
“It has become dangerously populist,” Mr Stewart said, adding that he was “unlikely” to vote Conservative.
Campbell was more matter of fact: “They're rubbish,” he said.
“Our motto has been to accept differences with understanding,” he continued. “The only time we've had a serious discussion is about Northern Ireland.”
Mr Stewart is particularly proud of the episode in which he questioned his co-star about the 2003 Iraq war, which continues to cast a shadow over the achievements of Mr Blair and Mr Campbell.
As a diplomat, Stewart was appointed Lieutenant Governor of southern Iraq in the turbulent period after the defeat of Saddam Hussein, when Prime Ministers Blair and Campbell were arguing over the legitimacy of the war.
Even after the election, his and Campbell's schedules won't get much easier: Like rock stars, they plan to record an episode in a concert hall and then perform a live tour of Australia.
Campbell has also written a book explaining politics to children, and he believes democracy can only be saved through education.
Stewart, who now teaches at Yale University in the US and is a published author, said that although he wanted to “help his country”, he had no plans to return to politics.
“I tried really hard for 10 years and it was a terrible experience,” he said.
© 2024 AFP
