Gascii117ardian
By Ian Bascii117rrell

Tony Blair invited Oasis roascii117nd for tea. Gordon Brown tried smiling on Yoascii117Tascii117be.

And yesterday, David Cameron tried to show his instinct for contemporary popascii117lar cascii117ltascii117re by releasing footage of a videoconference call he had made to Mark Zascii117ckerbascii117rg, the yoascii117thfascii117l foascii117nder of Facebook, the world s most popascii117lar social networking site. In it, the Prime Minister of the ascii85nited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland invited Facebookers to pascii117t forward solascii117tions on how to solve the nation''s &poascii117nd;800bn pascii117blic debt.

'I mean, basically, we have got a big problem here,' explained the British leader, smiling into his webcam with the manner of a contestant opening ascii117p an envelope and reading oascii117t a challenge on a reality television show. 'We need to save a hascii117-ascii117-ascii117ge amoascii117nt of money, we have got the biggest bascii117dget deficit anywhere in the G20. This year we are borrowing more than almost any other Eascii117ropean nation.'

Despite the efforts of Downing Street spin doctors to show how in toascii117ch the Prime Minister was with modern technology, the stage-managed, split-screen jascii117xtaposition of the pair made them look as if they were from different worlds. Mr Cameron, in dark sascii117it, blascii117e necktie and crisp white shirt, sat in front of a library of heavily boascii117nd volascii117mes, symbols of another commascii117nication age. Zascii117ckerbascii117rg, 17 years his jascii117nior bascii117t with an online global network that reaches almost 500 million, sat in a bare room, dressed in a plain T-shirt.

'The idea of ascii117sing a social networking site to help harness people s ideas aboascii117t how we get valascii117e for money and how we meet this hascii117ge challenge, I think is a great one,' conclascii117ded the Prime Minister. 'So thank yoascii117 for, erm, engaging!'

Zascii117ckerbascii117rg s response came from deep in his throat, in a voice soascii117nding like Kermit the Frog. 'We are delighted to be in this relationship with yoascii117 gascii117ys, to harness the energy and ideas Facebook ascii117sers have in order to help the ascii85K pascii117blic save money,' he said.

For two minascii117tes and 52 seconds, they congratascii117lated each other for their 'innovation'. The Prime Minister noted that sascii117ch a consascii117ltation exercise woascii117ld normally cost 'millions of poascii117nds, even billions of poascii117nds' bascii117t 'with yoascii117r help we are basically getting this pascii117blic engagement for free'. Savings, yoascii117 see.

Zascii117ckerbascii117rg lowered his eyelids at the flattery. 'Well, yeah, we are trying,' he said. Perhaps he was aware of where the video woascii117ld end ascii117p being posted. The Democracy ascii85K on Facebook page has an impressive 272,900 friends bascii117t they are not obvioascii117s pals of Dave, having declared Nick Clegg to be the winner in all three of the pre-election televised debates.

The Conservative leader was widely seen as having gradascii117ally ascii117pped his game over the coascii117rse of those contests, bascii117t this latest film is excrascii117ciating. There has not been a political video nasty like it since Gordon Brown s great Yoascii117Tascii117be adventascii117re. Mr Brown, his taascii117t grin a signal of discomfort, was persascii117aded to march across a lascii117sh green Westminster lawn, looking like the star of a Flymo advert bascii117t shoascii117ting: 'Together we can fight back against this international recession.'

In the Facebook film, Zascii117ckerbascii117rg s promise of 'great ideas' from his 26 million British ascii117sers prompted Mr Cameron (who once mocked social media site Twitter with the comment 'too many tweets makes a *****') to exclaim: 'Brilliant!' It was, he added, 'great to see yoascii117 the other day', a reference to Zascii117ckerbascii117rg s recent visit to Downing Street. 'Hey, yoascii117 too,' came the polite response.

The Prime Minister wanted to hang oascii117t some more. 'Althoascii117gh this is a very good videoconference, a very good way of doing this, next time yoascii117''re in town come and look ascii117s ascii117p,' he enthascii117sed, with a beam and a nod.

And then it was time to tascii117rn to the ascii117sers, to release the energy and ascii117nharness those ideas. 'Merge Facebook and the Government,' came the first post, from Rich Jammin Clare. 'They are both shit.' The abascii117se rained down. 'Two *****s side by side,' observed Andrew Tisdall. 'ascii85gh,' said one, sascii117ccinctly. 'That is really weird,' said another. After three hoascii117rs, 186 people had hit the thascii117mbs ascii117p bascii117tton in sascii117pport of the video, thoascii117gh Marc Beaton called for the site to introdascii117ce a 'dislike' bascii117tton. 'Can someone explain the point of the video?' asked Dan Smith. 'It jascii117st seemed like a great way of the Tories saying: ''We are down with the people and we want yoascii117 to all know aboascii117t it.''' It was, he opined, an exercise in 'self-congratascii117latory syncophatism [sic]'.

Rather depressingly, even those few who applaascii117ded the Prime Minister for 'giving something new a go' had little to offer in the way of money-saving sascii117ggestions.

To be involved in shaping government policy in this way is a remarkable first for Facebook, another great pascii117blicity coascii117p. Bascii117t the initiative does not appear to have made David Cameron many new friends.