Shame it comes from his local Tatton Labour Party rather than anyone else, as that kind of thing is easily brushed aside as party political motivation. Osborne's CGT issue will not be investigated as this is a matter - apparently - for HMRC.
Quite interesting that the Shadow Chancellor will be investigated by the department he may be responsible for after the Tories return to government, but stranger things have happened, such as Alistair Darling claiming tax advice on expenses and essentially getting away with it.
I look forward to HMRC being called in but I think the end of the world will happen before that. However, with Pluto in our collective national birth sign, Capricorn, stranger things have happened.
A card each for Osborne's past, present and future. An extra card fell out of the pack while I was shuffling, and for tarot readers this card is often important to the situation as a whole, so let's have it as a Situation card and then draw three more cards.
Situation - Smokebraider (Red, Elemental Shaman)
"Be silent and listen to your inner fire. Only then can you walk the path of flame."
In all this, the Tories are being scrutinised before they get a chance to enter government. They have had a fairly smooth ride so far, and since Yachtgate didn't remove him, he has to stand up to the "sunlight" he and Cambo have been assuring us is the "best disinfectant". How he behaves in this will provide a judgement on his suitability to be Chancellor. He should accept this challenge, but too often the Tories are arrogant enough to assume that the characteristics of Pluto in Sagittarius (PinS - henceforth Pluto in Cap is "PinC") - a ruling orthodoxy in the media and a free ride while their opponents are trampled underfoot - still apply. With Pluto entering Capricorn during Yachtgate, the Tories were surprised when their attempts to smear Mandelson rebounded on them. Essentially, this was a sign that the motto for this cuspal era, while PinS is blowing itself out and PinC is beginning to establish itself, that "what goes around comes around" and "he who fights by the sword dies by the sword" means greater balance in the press and greater opportunity to hold people of both sides to account for their actions. Osborne should look on this as a test. If he passes it, great, he is made of good stern stuff and can take on the role of Chancellor easily. If he fails...no dice. The Past/Present/Future spread will give me more of an idea whether he will pass or not.
Past - Elvish Promenade (Green, Enchantment)
"The faultless and immaculate castes form the lower tiers of elvish society, with the exquisite caste above them. At the pinnacle is the perfect, a consummate blend of aristocrat and predator."
Osborne indeed has lived by the sword. He was responsible for spinning against Mandelson, and it backfired because he expected to escape scrutiny due to the assumed media swing to the Tories. He hoped also to assume the mantle of a faultless or even become a perfect - and again the role of a politician in PinS was to be predator or prey. His old boss Howard became prey to Blair, but he and Cambo assumed they would be the predators to Brown. When the scandal hit, they hoped to use it to their advantage - and failed because they were also prey to a media who declared any politician fair game. So Osborne not only was a Perfect - by elvish standards - but assumed the mantle of a predator. Auden quoted the maxim "He to whom is evil done, does evil in return" in a poem about the Spanish Civil War. Sadly, the prey in 2005 is the predator in 2009 - but that maxim is becoming too apparent in the modern Conservative Party, at the expense of any idea of dignity, gravitas and coherent plans for long-term government. I prefer Brown's method of government, and in PinC that style of government becomes more and more necessary to cope with the potential collapses PinC augurs in the world financial system. So we must never assume the mantle of a perfect. But Osborne and Cameron know no better, and have.
Present - Duskwalker (Black, Minion)
Osborne (and, in my opinion Cameron too; since he is wedded to Osborne and didn't ditch him in late 2008 like someone more astute might have done in the wake of Yachtgate) is now corrupted by being part of the winning side, and is hoping to walk forward untested and unjudged into government. Not possible. If the heat of a general election wouldn't get him, the light of the expenses scandal might. The card is still powerful, but this power has been bought in exchange for his purity and incorruptibility. And guess what? He too has CGT bills he avoided. He can no longer stand up to the scrutiny PinC will bring. Even if he wins, he will be tainted, as his leader is, and unlike some of the older generation brought up in power under the forces of Pluto in Scorpio, where real deaths and real rebirths were constantly testing the mettle of Michael Howard and Ken Clarke, among others - the Hillsborough and Zeebrugge disasters, the Lockerbie bombings and Kegworth air crashes, the poll tax riots and other chaos, ending with the cuspal Dunblane massacre, exposed the government to scrutiny, forced their hands and ultimately led to the Tories' downfall. The intervening years have been all the worse for lack of scrutiny of government, and then opposition. But what that leads to is corruption that is now subject to scrutiny. Power for the Tories has come at a price. And the image of choking dust suggests more metaphorical clouds gathering to act as the abrasive scrutiny we all need and deserve.
Future - Lammastide Weave (Green, Instant)
"A ribbon torn will ward away dark dreams."
I'm going to give this a conservative reading and say we will find out Osborne's fate at Lammastide - early August. I can foresee a good ending - for all concerned - but the card points to what it has come to represent for me, and Osborne will have to wait for the judgement on his expenses, as will we, since July is going to be more evasion than actual enlightenment. It is a generous card, so I am allowing Deep Throat to come in and say that Osborne like others will be judged by the general election, but that things will be settled largely before then, so Lammastide is a fair reading for this card and attempts to guess what will happen will have to wait for that time for now.
