Would Brown perform during an election campaign?

StephenDC

Dont really share this view. Think Brown has done best when he has been on the front foot, setting out his plans, dominating the agenda.

Thats true of Cameron as well but the idea that high exposure is bad for brown is just flat wrong.

Mike, Brighton

I wonder if Brown will urgently need to spend time in Afghanistan during the election campaign? Or perhaps New York saving the world?

strapworld

It will be sheer bliss watching this serial liar on the election trail..........

He best remember a more likeable Scott!!

"O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!"

He will be caught out well and truly!

strapworld

tangled
- become twisted: to become twisted together into a jumbled mass, or make something become twisted into a jumbled mass
- catch and hold something: to catch and entwine somebody or something in something that is difficult to get out of, e.g.a net or trap.
- trap somebody in difficult situation: to trap...

Sums Brown up perfectly? Roll on the election.

TrevorsDen

Oh Harry come on ...

On one hand Cameron is accused of not doing enough and when he speaks out he is told he is doing too much !!

Brown will perform in the same way he and Blair did in the past. Labour will engage in a carefully sanitised regal progress around Britain, bestowing carefully crafted sound-bites with only a nodding acquaintance with reality, and being fawned on by the BBC as they go.

Wherever Brown feels embarrassed he will attach himself to some more friendly personage do distract attention. Make no mistake Blair will be drawn in too.

Are you Harry Crumb by any chance?

Verity

Good point, Harry Maude. Brown is a one hundred percent guaranteed vote repellent

Ted Wooller

The fact is, it will be disastrous for him. The man is plainly unable to connect with people in person or via the media. Have you noticed the way he greets people with a quick shake of the hand and a plainly false smile that is immediately switched off and on again as he moves swiftly to the next person. He doesn't know how to relax with people or allow people to relax in his company. Personally I find him quite creepy, wasn't it Blair who said he was psychologically flawed.

Wilhelm

This wretched worthless no mark Gordon Broon is a self indulgent, narcissistic, ego trip who is socially awkward bordering on the autistic. He's a train wreck.

And thats his plus points.

Wilhelm

Gordon Broon is like a pigeon.

He shits on you and then flys away.

HTwiss

The architect of boom and bust will be shown up in an election campaign. As Robert Shrimsly in his column in today's FT points out, Brown has been running a Ponzi scheme for the last ten years!

Trumpeter Lanfried

Every time Brown smiles he loses a thousand votes.

Forlornehope

Wasn't is P G Wodehouse who remarked that "there is seldom any difficulty in distinguishing between a Scot with a grievance and a ray of sunshine"?

Alex

The massive benefit for Brown/Labour in the forthcoming election campaign will to have the full backing of the BBC, the state broadcaster.

Th BBC will assist him/Labour at their every move, complete with all the positive exposure and spinning they ask for.

All this of will exist hand in hand with as much negative exposure as possible for Cameron / the Conservative party.

Verity

Ted Wooller - "wasn't it Blair who said he was psychologically flawed."

No. It turned out it had been Cherie. The one time I ever approved of anything that issued from her postbox mouth.

Peter Wilson

Re: StephenDC, Brown is good on reeling out stats but this article is right, the more Cameron appears on TV the better his ratings, the more Brown, the worse.

For a clue on how the election will go, look at PMQs a few weeks back, about Baby P - Brown can't do empathy, improvisation or emotion, that will play badly during an election

Jed Yoong

"the meet ‘n’ greet frenzy of an election campaign would play to the Tory leader’s strengths, while exposing some of Brown’s weaknesses."

ha ha ha ha ha ha
i like brown much more than blair. but gee william hague with his nasal voice or was it that ian duncan fella?
i think this cameron guy has a good "package".
it's a shame but politics is so image focused these days.
how else could someone like obama with his resume become the leader of the superpower?
grin, offer hope/change/reform, get a good media consultant, and you're in?

Ivan Dunnow

Well how has Brown performed, during the worst economic crisis in living memory, for which he is, in good part, directly, personally culpable, and is either way tied to the baggage of a dozen years of incumbency? Whoops, he's reversed a twenty point mid term lead for the opposition. Betting the farm on Brown imploding during a general election campaign seems to me at any rate to be among the more flawed of Davite assumptions. Speaking only for myself, I can quite easily see a good fortnight of what may well be no more than a snap 3 week general election campaign being dominated by unresolved stories about Cameron. Unaired is unsettled, and we did ourselves no favours at all in the 2005 leadership election campaign by not settling that hash (as it were, and it's not). Perhaps, ten years on, it's time for Ginny Dougary to conduct another interview?

statechaos

Any election campaign will be so distorted by the biased media, principally the BBC ie. Browns Broadcasting Corporation that an increasingly uneducated electorate will be seduced by the lies that are peddled. Take the constant reference by Labour ministers that the Conservatives are the Do-nothing party. As the opposition they are not in a position to do anything, but they have plenty of policies and ideas that they are waiting for the opportunity to put into practice. Perhaps the BBC will be kind and fair enough to portray the Labour party as the 'do anything' party ie. anything to stay in power whatever the disasterous results.

seb

Brown has just announced that withdrawal of our troops from Basra. Following weeks of lectern- bashing across the globe, nothing could signal that an election is coming more clearly than this, despite the predictable lying about there being no plans to go to the polls. Brown's wunderschoen team of psephological titans is planning everything around His [complete lack of a] personality, so, to answer the question, He won't be allowed to perform at all. Beatitudes and sermons will be fed to the public via the briefest of pre-filmed appearances and through His servile mouthpieces on the Beeb, GMTV, Sky News and in the press. In a nation where most of the people could chew gum and walk at the same time, such a cowardly show ought to condemn Him to oblivion. According to the polls, we appear to inhabit a nation where a third of the voters can only chew gum or walk at the same time, so all bets are off.

The Bellman

Ivan: A fair point, but McSnotty hasn't "reversed" a 20-point opposition lead - at least, not in any commonly-understood sense of the word. He's reduced it to around 4-5 points.

So far as the average punter is concerned, this is not yet "the worst economic crisis in living memory": so far, that is true largely only for those at the point of the financial spear and for employees of unsustainable companies with rubbish business models. Once it becomes a reality for the average voter - when they start realising that economic activity based upon borrowing is illusory - they will start to look for scapegoats. Then I suspect the tittle-tattle you mention will matter rather less - and statechaos' point about the 'do anything party' will have some potential traction.

That's no excuse for Dave-o and Gids to sit on their hands, but when the truth dawns, both could have spent their teens freebasing while paying dwarves dressed as Ewoks to defacate on male escorts dressed as the Ant Hill Mob, and it will be of peripheral interest even to the BBC.

StephenDC

Peter,

I agree the more Cameron is on TV the better he does.

Where is the evidence that the less brown is on the better he does? When is the period when brown has been off our screens and done well and when is the period he has been on our screens constantly and done poorly

Verity

The one thing that would guarantee the Tories a victory would be if they could persuade Sarah Palin - pay whatever she asks for - to come over and campaign on our behalf for three weeks. Victory guaranteed. It's not just Americans. She speaks for ordinary people everywhere. If she brought the First Dude over with her, that would wrap up the ladies' vote.

zane

oh verity you made me so happy with that comment. good to see the tory party is as bonkers as the GOP

Wilhelm

Did you see Gordon Broon on GMTV this morning wishing a fond farewell to retiring presenter Fiona Philips.

Nauseating.

DIana

Verity - I cannot believe your comment might even be serious. But, if it is, let me reply that the Tories have enough experienced, serious, female campaigners in their own ranks without having to bring on board an American like her. And I write, (for comparison) as a Tory female voter, mother of four - often found on the football sidelines - Christian, and more knowledgeable about British and world politics than she clearly is.

richard bond

PM Brown muddles along with his team of cabinet misfits. That keeps any Michael Heseltines traitors in check. What we need is a CAMERON-CLEGG-BROWN TV debate that Americans can get in their glossy democracy. But in Britain we are denied this right of human inter-action and clarity. The spin doctors keep PM Brown in power.....they must keep their guard up at all times to defend their sheltered leader.

mitch

He will spend more time in schools than most teachers.
A load of stage managed set pieces,planted questions and no "real people".

simon cardew

Verity..Sarah Palin the fiesty Alaskan hockey mom was guilty of appealing to simple folk by implying OBAMA was a closet terrorist. Terrorism is not a joking matter in Baghdad London Madrid Mumbay Istanbul..terrorism did not end on 9/11/2001.

Wilhelm

Simon Cardew squeeks Mumbay

Where the hell is Mumbay ?

A Theologian

You seem to be assuming that there will be an election. GB will declare a state of emergency. Plato discusses it somewhere I seem to recall.

Verity

Troll Cardew: Sarah Palin was a hockey mom in her much younger days. You will note that her youngest son is serving in Iraq ... so quite a few long years ago. Before she entered politics.

Governor Palin is far too savvy a politician to imply that Obambi was a closet terrorist, although the idea did have a lot of traction long before she appeared on the scene.

You write, in your illiterate way, "Terrorism is not a joking matter" - when on earth did Governor Palin ever joke about terrorism, you simpleton? - "in Baghdad London Madrid Mumbay Istanbul" ... (Istanbul?) Any particular reason you didn't separate the cities with a comma? Why not add New York? Why not add Buenos Aires? Why not add Lebanon? What about Jerusalem? You didn't mention Bali. Why not mention the Achille Lauro? What is the matter with you?

Why did you write Obambi's name in CAPITAL LETTERS?

You should have separated your adjectival phrase describing Governor Palin with commas.

Otherwise, I'm sure the regular readers are all most appreciative of your lucid, authoritative thinking.

Diana, are you equally humourless and boring at parties?

Verity

I agree with those who have implied that Brown is too much of a coward to go out on the stump. Especially as he doesn't have John Prescott to punch out hecklers. He will indeed, stick to visiting schools and frightening children. And visiting troops, who would rather he didn't. And gurning around friendly TV studios.

Pete

Brown destroys his opponents before he makes his move.

He will be busy working away behind the scenes either destroying his opponents or 'ensuring' that the mainstream media portray them as being unelectable.

Verity

Simon Cardew, could you tell your masters that we prefer a better class of troll here on The Speccie?

I think you got Obambi mixed up with William Ayers, who was an actual terrorist - not in a closet. People do think that Obama's a closet Muslim, though. Given that his father was a Muslim, his brother George in Kenya is a Muslim, his brother Obongo in Kenya is a Muslim, his stepfather in Indonesia was a Muslim, as are his step-siblings. I think we can see a pattern emerging here. The only one in the closet seems to be Obongo, who people say is gay.

How's that illegal immigrant aunt and uncle, living in taxpayer funded sheltered housing up there in Philadelphia doing? I understand they're Muslim and I would imagine that, as they're illegal, they stick pretty close to the closet.

JohnAnt

It'll be amusin' to see the unelected Lord Peter Whimsey of Fey givin' his all in a Brown campaign but just hesitatin' ever-so-slightly with his support at the crucial moments.
I hope he does a bit of ferocious rantin' though. The public really warm to Peter when he rants. That should win it pretty securely - for the Tories.

TGF UKIP

The dangerous assumption here is that it will be anything like a conventional GE campaign. It won't.

It will be very short, focusing not on the Parties across the board policies but exclusively on the managment of the economy.

Providing Gordon can bring himself to restrain Balls and let Mandelson have charge, it will also be, on the Labour side, very tightly managed, highly disciplined, extremely media adroit and professional to the nth degree.

Added to all this is a hunger and intensity which appears all together absent from the shambolic band called the Cameron Tories.

The Tories may well have the better message but it just so happens that they have, by and large, crap messengers and a sub-standard machine to handle its delivery.

Hysteria

Verity - give up the Palin thing will ya? Many of your arguments are pretty solid - this one - erm - not so much

Bruce, UK

Brown would perform well in a campaign. She did all right in Fife as I recall; and after all, she is married to Gordon.

Wilhelm

Bruce

If you stuck a deep fried mars bar with a liebour flag on it up for election in Glasgow, it would get voted in, thems the facts, sad but true.

strapworld

Verity, I do think you have something, in relation Mrs Palin.

The way the lefties went all out to crucify this woman, in the UK, was quite spectacular.

Yes we also had the mad Aussie woman Platell mouthing off. But, as she has such a massive chip on her shoulder, people just disregard her comments.

Mrs Palin would certainly light up the campaign over here. The problem, though, is that she will probably dislike Cameron from the first meeting!

He doesn't like hunting or shooting. He did go to the snow, once! they have nothing at all in common.

BUT, she would be able to pay Browb back, on behalf of the republicans for his support of Obama! That would be great to see and hear.

Verity

What "Palin thing", Hysteria? I have mentioned her once in the last six weeks.

Just to drive my actual point home: We need someone charismatic with securely held principles who can relate to broad swathes of voters across age, class, income and political spectrum.

The Conservatives do not have such a person in the entire top rank - or, at least, not anyone they would consider making their leader or even anyone who ran the risk of outshining vapid Dave.

(Strapworld, Cameron rides a bicycle. Palin rides a Harley. Or a snowplough. Or a self-piloted seaplane. I think we can see where the action is.)

Here's the money quote from TGI UKIP's post above and it's worth repeating. After discussing the precision of the deployments by my Lord Rio of Rumba and the mincelings: "Added to all this is a hunger and intensity which appears all together absent from the shambolic band called the Cameron Tories."

Sigh.

seb

I noticed that GQ [Gits' Quarterly] magazine has an article about the weighty decision Murdoch has to make between supporting Brown or Cameron. There it is!!! We don't need f**king elections, do we? We ask an Australian with, apparently, the attention span of a goldfish, to decide who'll be our next Prime Minister and The Saviour can spend the time having a manicure. Nice one, mate!