Interests and Habits
Hacker has many prominent habits that feature throughout the series:
- Drinking. Hacker enjoys various alcoholic beverages, particularly harder liquors, including scotch whisky: "the odd drinkie", as he likes to call them. He is seen drunk on more than one occasion and was caught drinking and driving in the episode "Party Games". He used his political immunity to escape charges.
- Disdain for certain types of culture. Sir Humphrey thinks Hacker to be a cultural philistine who is unaware of the importance of protecting Britain's artistic heritage. Hacker believes it only important to the upper-class snobs (such as Humphrey himself), and several other "wet, long-haired, scruffy art lovers", arguing that operas created by Italians and Germans are not representative of Britain's cultural heritage. However, upon becoming Minister for the Arts (in "The Middle-Class Rip-Off"), Hacker asks Humphrey if he could tag along on a gala night at the Royal Opera House. Humphrey is delighted by the volte-face and declares, "Yes, Minister!" enthusiastically. It should also be noted Hacker and his wife enjoy seeing foreign films, and in the same episode Hacker demonstrates some grasp of art, enough to make a strong case that a disputed art gallery in his constituency is not worth saving. (See also "Football" below.)
- Pomposity. Hacker is often seen going off into sentimental, overly pretentious speeches either to himself or to Bernard and Sir Humphrey, holding his lapel on his suit jacket in a very royal manner. He also mimicked Napoleon by slipping his hand in the front of his suit jacket upon hearing he was selected by the party to become party leader and hence Prime Minister. However, it appears that Hacker's political idol is Winston Churchill: he occasionally speaks in the statesman's gruff style, on several occasions imitating or paraphrasing Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech, and is seen reading biographies of him.
- Football. Hacker believes that sport is of a greater cultural importance and is even willing to sacrifice a local art gallery in order to bail out his constituency's football team, the fictional Aston Wanderers, that was being threatened with bankruptcy. He didn't support the team though, and was mentioned as being an Aston Villa supporter in the first episode.
Read more about this topic: Jim Hacker
Famous quotes containing the words interests and, interests and/or habits:
“Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort. Do not talk to him about the interests and rights of the human race; that little private business of his for the moment absorbs all his thoughts, and he hopes that public disturbances can be put off to some other time.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“We might as easily reprove the east wind, or the frost, as a political party, whose members, for the most part, could give no account of their position, but stand for the defence of those interests in which they find themselves.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Long accustomed to the use of European manufactures, [the Cherokee Indians] are as incapable of returning to their habits of skins and furs as we are, and find their wants the less tolerable as they are occasioned by a war [the American Revolution] the event of which is scarcely interesting to them.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)