Tánaiste Leo Varadkar
A virtuoso in this particular field is Leo Varadkar, who is currently in his second spell as Irish premier. A little while ago, the Irish government organised a public consultation to find out what voters thought about its plans for draconian new laws to criminalise so-called "hate speech". It received more than 3,500 responses. Ben Scallan, a journalist for an Irish news website called Gript Media, claims to have read every single one - and suggests that over 70 per cent opposed the government's plans. Yet the government is still pressing ahead with them, regardless.
So what precisely, he asked Mr Varadkar this week, was the point of consulting the public at all?
"We do consultations because we think they're good practice," replied the Taoiseach, wearing an expression of immaculate sincerity. "It's a way to find out what people's thoughts are."
Yes. But he'd utterly disregarded those thoughts.
Mr Varadkar remained supremely unfazed. The "vast majority of people", he explained airily, "don't make submissions to public consultations", which means that they're "not necessarily reflective of public opinion". Especially when the results can be distorted by "campaign groups", who can cunningly arrange for their supporters to submit large numbers of anti-government responses. And anyway, he added, "we're a democracy", which meant that all decisions were taken by the government. They certainly weren't taken on the basis of "public consultations and opinion polls".
So, to summarise: it's vital for the government to listen to the public. Unless, that is, the public disagrees with the government, in which case, it isn't. Public consultations, therefore, are both essential, and worthless.
Good of Mr Varadkar to clear that up. I can't help wondering, however, what he'd have said if the results had been the other way round, and over 70 per cent had backed the plans.
"These results clearly show that the Irish public overwhelmingly support these essential new laws. The people have spoken loud and clear - and, as a government, it's our duty to listen. After all, this is a democracy..."
Just a guess. Anyway, at least some good will come of it. Now Irish voters can see that "public consultations" are nothing more than political window dressing, they need no longer waste their time on taking part.
The worst thing about the next election
After the results from Thursday, every commentator will say that Labour are certain to win the next general election. But they're wrong. Labour aren't going to win.
The Tories are going to lose.
This is a crucial distinction. Most voters are plainly motivated by grim disillusionment with the Government - not delirious enthusiasm for Labour's policies, whatever they may be. By the election, the Tories will have been in power for 14 years. More than enough for all but their most loyal supporters to have grown heartily sick of them. So, as it tends to do in such circumstances, the country will sigh, and give the sole available alternative a whirl.
That, though, is not how pro-Labour pundits and celebrities will view it. Instead, they'll treat the result as an endorsement not only of Labour, but of their own personal worldview.
"See!" they'll crow. "This shows that the Tories got the British people completely wrong, with their hateful Right-wing culture wars. Clearly the public actually LOVE small boats. And puberty blockers, and the EU, and reparations for slavery, and teaching primary school children about dildos. The Tories are so out of touch..."
For Conservatives, this is going to be the worst thing about the next general election. Not the result. But the gloating afterwards.
Those "skills" are the absence of a spine and a conscience, replaced by ambitions and mediocrity.
But what else should one expect from the "Telegraph", one of the most pro-Nazi (a.k.a "Ukrainian") propaganda outlets in the UK ?