Andrew Marr & Gordon Brown

Monday, 28th September 2009

Did the host cross the line into bad taste? Polis director Charlie Beckett thinks not:

As Guido himself pointed out, it was mainstream media that was also indulging in this very personal speculation...So by the time Marr got around to putting this bit of gossip to the Prime Minister, it was already up and running. In that sense I think it was a legitimate question. Brown was obviously surprised and upset by the question but he answered it very clearly: ‘No’. In that sense Marr was doing his job, which is partly to allow politicians to categorically kill off untrue allegations...
I am deeply fascinated and concerned about the PM’s character. I think the country is, too. It is an issue. His leadership style is bizarre. It has had a deep effect upon this government’s effectiveness and his Party’s catastrophic decline in the polls. Brown’s reaction to the Marr question and the way he rambled off into what was obviously a heart-felt disquisition on his eyesight ‘handicap’ indicated to me that his health/state of mind is a factor. Let’s be honest, if you had taken over a country only to walk into one of the world’s worst economic disasters you would be sorely tempted to seek chemical assistance. What makes it worse for Gordon is that his colleagues, let alone the media, are not providing any kind of balm.