Trust HN to turn a banksy into a Rorschach test.

The statue is in Westminster, right by Whitehall. The heart of British government. It depicts a figure in a suit, marching off a ledge, completely blinded by a flag.

Who wears a suit and marches through Westminster under a flag?

- Businessmen? No. Merchants have no country.

- Officials? They wear suits but don't march

- Old-guard politicians? Rarely march or flag-wave with any conviction.

So who are we left with? The populist. The Nigel Farage archetype. The suited firebrand who wrap themselves in nationalist fervor, stoke the rabble, and blindly march everyone right off a cliff.

Banksy isn't known for complex, multi-layered messaging. He is popular precisely because he uses visual shorthand to say plainly what the general public is already thinking. There is no hidden 4D chess; it's just blunt satire about blind patriotism.

Edit: This also explains why the government is happy to keep this particular Banksy on display.