Kirsten Farage: what we learned from her 'first' newspaper interview
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Version 0 of 1. Name: Kirsten Farage. Age: 49 or 50. Occupation: Stay-at-home secretary. Appearance: "A stunning government bond broker whose brisk efficiency at first sight belied her ethereal appearance." What? "She could have stepped into a pre-Raphaelite painting no questions asked." Ouch. Is she a bit clumsy then? No. That was just a characteristically lumpen metaphor on the part of her devoted husband, Nigel. That guy who doesn't like Romanians? Yes. Him. Haven't we heard enough about him for a bit? Yes. But we never hear much about her, apart from the fact that she is the German wife and secretary of a man who makes speeches against immigration. Now, out of nowhere, she has agreed to give an interview during Ukip's victory party, to the Telegraph. What a scoop! Absolutely. They say it "is thought to be her first ever newspaper interview". So what is she like? Hard to say. They only asked about her husband. Oh for the love of … Even so, she sounds very nice really. Also extremely confident and self-possessed. "I do a very hard job," she said, "and Nigel's a very difficult person to work for." Apparently their two bilingual daughters don't get to see much of their father, who drinks and smokes too much. She also puts in long hours as his PA, often wearing a nightie. Yes I remember Farage justifying her employment on the grounds that "nobody else could do that job". I didn't realise he meant that applicants would have to wear a nightie. I think it was just her way of saying that she works late. Ah. So what else do we know about Mrs Farage? That she was born Fraulein Mehr. She used to work as an interpreter for a German bank. Perhaps mischievously, after receiving what he said was a very charming letter from her, Boris Johnson described her as "the brains" behind Ukip. They've certainly kept them well hidden. Indeed. Mrs Farage also does a good line in banter. During the last World Cup, she hung a German flag on their fence. "It winds Nigel up quite a bit," she said at the time. "I do take the mickey when we win and, because that is usually what happens, Nigel doesn't get much chance to come back." Wait a minute, when did she say that? Erm … in an interview four years ago. With the Telegraph. Do say: "One day all our children will be speaking German!" Don't say: "Eines Tages werden alle unsere Kinder deutschsprachig sein!" |