Monday, December 15, 2008

Exit Strategy

Did she jump, or was she pushed?
That's the question being posed after last week's news that the chief executive of Liverpool One, Joanne Jennings, is to leave her position (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2008/12/11/joanne-jennings-head-of-liverpool-one-shopping-centre-steps-down-100252-22455054/ ):
"Liverpool One chief executive Joanne Jennings announced her decision to leave the role and seek new challenges today."
Ah, yes, "new challenges"; I love that euphemism!
There's the usual bollockese from Grovesnor, owner of the retail behemoth, gushing in its seeming appreciation of Jenning's tenure. However, what's this?
"Following her departure the chief executive's role will not be replaced.
"But a new position of estates director will concentrate on the day-to-day running of the centre from early next year."
So, a reduced position for the same job, &, doubtless, a reduced salary to go with it, too.
Jennings, for her part, adheres to the requisite niceities of such "departures", exclaiming:
"I have enjoyed a challenging and exciting role as the Liverpool One chief executive and am extremely proud of what has been achieved here.
"I have also been very privileged to work in the city during the most momentous of times, with Capital of Culture and Liverpool's resurgence as a regional capital.
"I know that Liverpool One will continue to be embedded in city life."
"Challenging" is another euphemism to savour; Capital of Culture year "momentous", Joanne? Not so for most Scousers, quietly getting on with their lives in credit crunch year. And what's all this bullshit about "Liverpool's resurgence as a regional capital"?
Define a regional capital, Joanne.
Can't? OK, I'll define it for you: a regional capital is the main administrative centre within a federal state, eg., Germany with its Lander system. Last time I checked, the UK had not adopted the federal model.
As for Liverpool One being "embedded" in the city, I can't help thinking it will become as discredited & irrelevant to the city as the embedded journos in the Iraq war were to proper reporting.

1 comment:

Guillaume said...

Starnge to see how some public figures can be so ignorant. She mixed capital with metropolis. That said, we have the same confusion in Québec: the cities which are metropolis of their regions (not a state obviously but an economic/cultural area) are often labelled "capitales régionales".