Flickr/European Parliament. Some rights reserved.The challenge to a duel in Hyde Park from a Polish nobleman to a British politician created something of a time warp. The exchange, of words only, between Janek Żyliński and UKIP leader Nigel Farage prior to the election has reopened the old question of what is an unacceptable insult in the often vitriolic world of politics.
For Daniel O’Donaghue, the member for Tipperary, it was being called a traitor during a 1862 debate in the House of Commons. The insult was directed at O’Donaghue by the Secretary for Ireland Sir Robert Peel, son of the famous statesman, following a political meeting in Dublin. O’Donaghue sent his friend, another Irish MP, to ‘demand satisfaction’.
The challenge was intercepted by the prime minister, Lord Palmerston. The old tactician then took to the floor and spoke at length of the hallowed freedom of expression, an English right now jeopardised by threats of physical violence. O’Donaghue was derided as a Celtic barbarian, an outsider to the modern political system.
