The best publicity Brown is ever likely to get

toco

Why bother-is this an 'in memoriam'?The man is dangerous,insincere and cynical.Fraser you should try and get out more it will do you so much good.

TrevorsDen

Lansley made a howler? Getting just bleeding typical from you Mr Nelson - in an article pointing out flagrant bias by a national broadcaster, you go out of your way to smear the tories.

Basically your article seems to me to be evidence as to why this programme should be reported to the broadcasting watchdog.

John

It would suit you, wouldn't it Fraser, if Brown managed to cling on. Five more years of critical coverage of the government will dispel the notion that you actally couldn't care less who runs this country.

paul holdstock

i attempted to be as neutral as possible when i viewed the show tonight.
indeed, his prepping by Campbell was surprisingly effective.
he was a moderately competent attempt at a human being.
however, what we did learn was that naturally he was still raw after the loss of his child, as indeed we could all identify with, and empathise with.
we also learnt that when he heard of the death of John Smith his first thought/action was to contact blair to stitch up the leadership job, rather than to contact Smiths' widow to see if he could be of any help, in addition to passing on his condolencies.
thereby proving that he is utterly selfish, ruthless, and inhuman.
the next thing we learnt was that there had indeed been a deal on the leadership with Blair, and rows between them too.
this completely contradicts both mens' repeated denials over the past 13 years. therefore he confirmed beyond doubt that he is a persistant liar.
finally we learnt that he could'nt accept the offer of a whole roast pig from a 'middle eastern' government.
bearing in mind the religious beliefs held by all middle eastern nations, either islam or jewish, this beggars belief. furthermore, no record of such a gift appears on the governments own list of gifts to ministers.
this makes us conclude that once again he is lying. in fact, if he was'nt actually rehearsed on every question before filming started, it illustrates that his knee-jerk reaction to an unexpected question, is to simply come up with some lie to try to present him, in what he thinks will be the best light.
so ultimately we have learnt, from his own lips, that he is a ruthless, unfeeling, inveterate persistant, compulsive liar.
if character, and integrity, are important elements in a prime minister, he fails on every count.

Dan

Are you seriously saying that "millions of voters" will be swayed by a naff sounding marriage proposal?

I hope you're wrong. I couldn't bring myself to watch it, but I must say I'm peturbed by the thought that Labour will benefit. Somehow I still doubt it.

Jayu

Reported for what Trev? Cameron and Clegg have been offered the same opportunity by Morgan.

Sir Arnold Robinson

toco - you have commented on the last two articles posted on here, at 11.55pm and 12.00pm respectively, that the authors should "try and get out more" and "try and get a non virtual life". Being on here at midnight posting non-comments such as these suggests you should take some of your own advice.

I completely agree with Fraser, every word of it. As much as I loathe the man, this was an incredibly slick sycophantic production. All of his chums were lined up to lavish praise upon the magnificent, kind, humorous Mr Brown. I fear that a significant proportion of the electorate won't see through this sham, concluding instead that "Y'know what, he's not such a bad bloke after all". Depressing.

andrew

"But it's clear that Morgan He genuinely likes Brown"

A capital 'H' in 'He' is usually reserved for the Almighty, or are you suggesting Piers Morgan is the second coming?

Frugal Dougal

Something Iain Dale pointed out was that most of the adverts weren't adverts at all, but trailers. Was the channel having difficulty selling advertising time?

Kennybhoy

They deserve each other.

wrinkled weasel

For goodness sakes! Get a grip! It's Tel e vision.
It is not reality or anything like reality.
So, this nauseating sociopath has been coached, massaged and fawned into doing a soft interview with a mate. The reality is that this man is a manipulator and a liar and a bully.
Please, let's get back to the reality of what this monster is doing to the country.

Jim

I'm sorry Mr Nelson but I really think you should get out more, if you think this will change how people vote then you have a very low opinion of the people of this country. People will see it for what it was, an hour long party political broadcast. This won't make people forget the mess Brown and his cronies have made.

Dan

I had to walk out halfway through the Brown interview. I found the cynical attempts at emotional manipulation nauseating. Felt like I was watching Nixon.

Call me Infidel

"It was a production featuring not just Brown, but the planet's entire inventory of people who like him."

You could probably fit them into a phone booth. I agree though, this is as good as it gets for him. The real Brown. The dysfunctional, control freak, weirdo will be on display far more than cuddles Brown the media friendly persona they have cobbled together. I felt no overwhelming need to view this nausea inducing drivel. The clip you posted last week was enough with his disgusting attempt to buy the sympathy vote. How low British politics has sunk. That's how little they respect the voters. They are happy to insult us with such cheap shots.

My prediction is the polls will continue to slide and Brown will continue to deteriorate. He has bullied his way into the job, but when it is put to the ordinary person to vote on his "achievements" the answer will be a resounding rasberry.

Boudicca

This is as good as it gets for Brown. An hour long propaganda piece by his friend Piers Morgan. As soon as we get into the real General Election campaign, Brown will get no such favouritism - and, sooner or later, he will have to face the electorate he despises and whose lives he has ruined.

I'm sure he still grieves for his baby daughter. I sure all the families of the servicemen/women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan because of inadequate funding/equipment also still grieve. I know who I feel more sympathy with - and its not the man who refused to increase defence funding when Blair took the country to war.

eeyore

Guido Fawkes points out that Mr Brown claimed he received a roast pig as a diplomatic gift from a Middle Eastern govt. A roast pig? From a Muslim (or possibly Jewish) state? This is like the thirteenth stroke of a crazy clock, not only dubious in itself but casting doubt on all that's gone before it.

Pramston

In this episode we see why a hung parliament is the most likely outcome of the forthcoming election and if by some miracle the Tories manage a workable majority they will never be allowed to govern.

radgie gadgie

As you say, this is as good as I gets. with this in mind his minders will have concluded already that the forthcoming election campaign will see Brown as little as possible and I expect he'll send a sick note when those TV debates are due.

strapworld

Fraser Nelson. Editor of a political magazine and a writer on political events writes, on the television debut in Celebrity Big Brother by Broon:-

"It was powerful, I'd say, because it was not party political propaganda:"

Not political? don't make me laugh. Everything this awful man does is contrived.

I want to get married soon! Was that because of all the rumours?

I, once, took you seriously Mr Nelson.

You can write drivel like this and other blogs on Finklestein but you cannot address important subjects, as promised, on Immigration.

You are in danger of becoming a laughing stock!

Cuffleyburgers

So we can look forward to a newly ennobled Lord Piers Morgan to degrade further the quality of the upper house shortly after the next election.

Absolutely sick-making

echo34

Fraser,

Can we try and get over the way things were portayed on this program and concentrate on what was said?

ie. lies over a leadership deal, roast pig muslim style, the mourning of John Smith.

You come across as a brain dead gimp with your smarmy fluff fluff comments about presentation.

You're a political commentator, not a media critic.

Start treating labour the way you dissect the tories. Any reputation you've garnered as someone who asks difficult questions is disappearing into the ether.

An article on immigration now please.

Or can you not get that Barclay twin hand out of your "neather" regions?

DZ

It sounds as though not possessing a TV has real benefits. I feel very relaxed on this lovely Sunday morning.

Publius

This vile show confirms that Brown will do anything to stay in power, it confirms that there is no "moral compass", it sickens decent people and panders to the very worst elements in politics, in society, and in human nature.

And what next? Will he start weeping during PMQ? Certainly Brown and Labour can never, never, never complain about bad taste again, or children as props again, or any other of the vile aspects of our modern politics-as-soap-opera.

The danger with letting the emotion genie out of the bottle is that it has its dark side too. Is that where we want our politics to go?

Irene

"Lansley's latest howler" - What ARE you on these days ?

Phil

I hate to say it but it appears that Fraser wants to keep his job and if that means licking Brown's boots and selling your soul for a story so be it.
I found the 5 minutes I watched contrived.The enhancement of canned laughter did nothing to dispel that feeling

Graeme Thompson

Piers Morgan has always struck me as a deeply unpleasant man. His advice to the England cricket team last Summer was along the lines of 'his marriage has just failed, give him a really hard time, his vulnerable'.

Doesn't suprise me that Gordon Brown is intimate friends with such a person. Will David Cameron too be given such a propaganda exercise by ITV? If not why not?

Liz Brown

Are you alright, Fraser? You sound like a convert to Mills & Boon
I didn't watch the prog - I never watch Morgan but the whole concept of gormless being rehearsed by bad Al Campbell and interviewed by his bestest friend turned my stomach

Graeme Thompson

Jayu, people like yourself who wish to perpetuate flagrant media bias in favour of Labour never cease to amaze at what idiots you take us for.

Brown's intimate friend Piers Morgan has offered Cameron the 'same' opportunity for interview?

This outrageous bias is normally on the BBC. Looks like after Campbell's spat he's had to call in favours elsewhere.

This type of bias is so prevalent and the Tories so utterly pathetic in doing anything about it that most people have given up caring about it and will sleepwalk into voting in a Labour Government again. Not that it would really make even 1-2º of difference if Cameron got in, but as a democrat, one does like to see free and fair elections. Gives one hope for our country's future.

welease woger

Jayu wrote:

"Reported for what Trev? Cameron and Clegg have been offered the same opportunity by Morgan."

Are you serious? A chance to be interviewed by probably the biggest Labour sycophant in the country? I'm sure that would go well.

Of course there should be complaints- perhaps some commentators who have done this before could post on the wall today the best way to do this.

One question not asked of Brown was "where did it all go wrong?". We might ask the same of Fraser and I suggest the answer is when he was made editor. Since then he's gone from probing and insightful journalist to nit-picking anti-Tory bore full of his own self-importance. Sad.

Andrew Webb

This was cobblers. Moron Morgan should stick to Britain's Got Talent. As for Brown roping his wife and deceased child into this - it does not get any lower. I have experienced the same, you don't go around broadcasting that fact for personal gain.

A disappointing article - truly shallow.

lola

Brown is a liar. What else is there to know?

JONNY

Another Dead Cat Brown Bounce in the offing.

Ghengis

What do you all expect to get from such an interview?. He probably rendered a successful expense claim. Take notice of his performances at PMQ's when he is supposed to be working for the public, He avoids providing a relevant answer.

Maggie

I presume you're acting as agent provocateur and expecting to be told where you've gone wrong in your assessment of Brown as born again human being. Unfortunately, like a dodgy theatre promoter, The Guardian has handpicked the bits that flatter Brown the most and is misusing them already.

MaisieW

Just remember this was a two and half hour interview, we got an hour, lets see the bits on the floor

Dorothy Wilson

Let's look at it analogy.

Say I work for a company that is hoping sell its products to another organisation and am sent along to give a presentation to that potential customer.

Half way through I sense the presentation is not going well so I try to get the sympathy of the potential customer by talking about a close bereavement. What would happen? The potential customer would be embarassed, any chance of getting the order would be lost and I would, at the very least, expect to be reprimanded by my employer.

In this interview, Brown was trying to "sell" himself to the potential customer or buyer [ie the voter]. He senses he is not winning that customer over so goes for the "sympathy sale".

He may win over just a few of those potential customers. My guess though is that the majority of them will just cringe and decide that he is simply not what they want to buy.

Mike

Gordon Brown came off very well in my opinion. He may not be the smoothest media man in the business but that is where you can see the honesty. He wouldn't feel comfortable with lying and cheating.

What is unbelievable is the people in this country will vote for the Tories even when they don't have any policies. Just think what you can do without an agenda. Anything!!

Minnie Ovens

"But it's clear that Morgan He genuinely likes Brown, and made no effort to disguise their friendship"
Apart from the bad grammar and repetition, Mr Nelson, I feel you are over analysing somewhat.
People will only remember it for its toe curling embarrassment and its horrendous self serving publicity.
I cannot forgive Mr Brown for nearly all his appalling decisions and lies in the past thirteen years but this took the cake.
Use anything you can to get elected!
Quite disgusting.

Naomi Muse

I agree with wrinkledweasel that Broon is a sociopath. He is a very dangerous man indeed.

It was a shameless piece of pally chat which amounted to pre-election propaganda and means that the election will be called when they all get back from recess.

Stevie

With his make up, new found love for publicity and public love life should we now call the PM Jordan Brown?

John

Amen to the above responses.
Were you in the studio Fraser?
Sitting on Mr Barclary's lap perhaps?

skynine

The thing that came over to me was that he was unable to string together a coherent sentence without repeating the first part of his answere twice or even three times. There seems to be a block between his brain and his mouth.

As far as the pig issue goes, it doesn't appear in the list of presents, someone should ask him who sent it and what he did with it. My feeling is it was a Tony Blair "stowaway" moment.

Andrew Webb

Is this the same Piers "Morgan" Moron that tried to rubbish the British Army with fake pictures?

2trueblue

Friends, if he can't produce something positive then he is no friend. A lot of us know and like some people that we would never involve ourselves with in business.

Do not know Brown, do not like what I know and his government has failed miserably to DELIVER. That alone is my reason for not listening to him at all.

It is cheap to display your life in such a way for political gain, shame on both of them for doing the program at this time. The country has real problems and most of them have been caused/made much worse by Brown, so let us leave the sentimentality out of politics and do the job.

gatehanger

I didn't watch the interview, but its not like Cameron hasn't got previous... anyone remember Jonathan Ross asking him if he masturbated over Thatcher as a young man. Now that was horrific in every sense of the word.

Paddy

I agree with Sir Arnold Robinson - a lot of people will not see through this sham.

You have to hand it to the labour party - they are all on message. In every interview they all come out with the same spiel.

Mandelson and Campbell must be giving them lots of homework.

Chrisg

My review of the Piers/Brown affair, here,

http://www.plenty2say.com

potager

'It was powerful because it was not party political propaganda'

Where is your judgement, Fraser? You think Brown wasn't trying to improve his electoral chances?

'It is unusual, in a democracy, to see such a favourable piece of television for a government leader.'

I think you know very well how far from a real working democracy Britain has travelled and shamefully, you seem to take some kind of perverse pleasure in that.

You celebrate the 'success' of the programme and completely fail to criticise the attempt to manipulate the voter , using his dead daughter, violating the privacy of his young son and using the 'skills' of his Lady Macbeth figure of a wife.

The aim apparently was to present Gordon Brown as a human being,trying to drape this narcissistic bully in a cloak of humanity.

Lies and deception- Labour's mission statement.But why are you pretending to fall for it?

Marcher Baron

I couldn't bring myself to watch it - Brown is seriously bad for my blood pressure - but I wonder just what the viewing figures were like.

David Davis_libertarian Alliance

Brown is a dangerous and wicked man, who wants English Classical liberalism dead. He has always known this about himself. He is someone from whom you ought not, Fraser, to accept to buy a used notion, and who wants a place in the post-darkening time of the coming Endarkenment....

These two deserved each other, and it's a credit to the Blair-Brown's education-"strategies" for the past 15 years that this programme got the adulation that it did.

Flee from them! Run from them! Turn your faces from them! They are wicked and evil and they hate what you and we stand for, and you should pay no attention. When Indiana Jones shrieked "shut your eyes!" to his girlfriend in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" at the ark-opening in film-1, he meant what I say about Brown.

Do not be taken in.....please.

SallyC

Is Fraser auditioning for the Simon Heffer award for unbiased reasonableness?

Look up from your navel man.

logdon

I didn't watch this lefty love in, and neither did my sane friends.

However I read that the poll gap has widened again by one point, showing that the British public are not swayed by this sort of nauseating crap.

Out there Brown is loathed.

And Cameron's retort during PMQ's to Brown's attempt at ridiculing his poster picture indicates even Labour have no faith. When he asked those who'd wish to have Brown as the campaign figurehead to raise their hands about five did so. That's his own party.

Come election day a rapid concentration of final decision making and pragmatic thought will occur.

Do we want a party which has sold us down the river? Neather is gaining across the board media traction at last and reading comment, we don't like it one bit.

Now that the money bubble has burst what possible reason would anyone have for inviting more of the same?

JohnBUK

So, Mike, Gordon is honest and cuddly. "Why would anyone vote Tory.....".
For the past 13 years this honest cuddly bloke has taken our savings and pensions, stripped more and more tax from us and hosed it liberally around the State urinal. It was done under the guise of improving services, helping the disadvantaged etc etc.
We are virtually bankrupt and frankly I don't see much return for all that largesse.
On top of that we are now surrounded by a major threat from unmanaged (or worse if Neather finally comes to the fore) immigration, education is frankly rock-bottom and our daily lives are made more unpleasant by laws that are kindly dictated by a body even more remote than this mob.
All done with a false smile and lies galore.
None of which has been put up for the voter to have a say about.
I would agree in part about the Tories I am distinctly unimpressed but I've got to the point where I'd vote for Reggy Kray (dead) over the current criminal lying charlatans.

cocotheclown

This is all going to seem so irrelevant in 6 months time. There'll be barely a ripple once he slides under for the last time. Think of the final scene of the film Open Water. His bizarre rise and fall could provide Aesop with plenty of material.

Sir Arnold Robinson

The people laying into Fraser's article must either be angst ridden adolescents or simply be unable can't read. Have another go. At no point does fraser suggest that any of the positive gloss that was put on Brown during the Morgan interview was a good thing, was accurate, or whether he subscribes to any of it. The fact is that the programme portrayed Brown in the most positive and flattering manner he's probably ever experienced to date. Yes, it was nonsensical, carefully-spun, sycophantic tosh. Most readers of this blog will appreciate that. But I dare say that many members of the public will not and I fully expect Brown to receive a bounce in the polls as a result. As per Fraser's comments.

It seems people see a positive adjective being used in an article about Brown and are ready to charge The Spectator with having made a volte-face. But actual reading of the article, in full and in context, who show that not to be the case. If you knew nothing about Brown and, more importantly, about the nuances of media manipulation, you could be forgiven for thinking we have a decent, hard-working, affable man as Prime Minister. We do not. We know that. Fraser knows that. But many people across the country may not. Expect to see the polls close as a result, like it or not.

david taylor

Before you start:

Make sure you aren’t dehydrated, this can occasionally be the reason why you aren’t producing tears.

Read more in Performing Arts
« Website Review: Ballroomdancers.info, a New Way to Dance OnlineDangerous Bends »
Make sure your facial muscles are relaxed. Don’t tense the muscles in your face, make sure you are relaxed. You can’t force your eyes to cry by bracing your entire body – some people forget this.

Think of some unhappy memories before you start, if you wish to try a technique which involves crying from past experience. A breakup, death, situation that you find sad (leaving your family, your pet getting killed in front of you), or sometimes even a predicament that made you cry in a movie can work.
If you wear contacts, be very careful as some methods can dry them up or damage them.
When making yourself cry, you are either hurting yourself to produce tears, making your eyes water, or drying out your eyes.

mitch

Will piers moron get a gong or a seat in the lords for this tosh?

Ghengis

On arrival at your polling station and before voting, I urge you to THINK OF THE £12,000 OF TAXPAYERS MONEY RETURNED TO THE FEES OFFICE WITHOUT EXPLANATION BY THE LEADER OF THE PARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE POSITION WE ARE NOW IN

Frank Leader

Does anyone know what a Pillock is called when middle aged?
Brown wife says she loves him, there's no accounting for taste.

Jonathan Hope

So Piers Morgan is a great friend of our P.M. and frequent visitor to Downing Street . Has everyone forgotten that he lost his job at the Mirror for printing obviously faked pictures of a British soldier relieving himself over an alleged Iraqi prisoner , which turned out to have been taken in this country? He tried to humiliate our troops while we were at war ,with unpleasant repercussions as a result, such as the desecration of British graves in the occupied territories . And this man is a personal friend of our Prime Minister...What has happened to this country?

Cassandrina

Remarkable piece, supposedly written to draw comment.
One is reminded of how effective Hitler and Uncle Joe were in PR to their nations, and they were professionals at it.
Brown is an economic criminal and sociopath that has cost the country dearly, yet I do not blame him, I blame those creatures who feed on his flesh like Morgan, Cambell, Straw, and Lord Mandy.
His performance could bring back blubbing in public, and he could go for Olympic medal for it. Hopefully the other parties will not lower themselves to this level.

Horry

Nobody I've spoken to about this programme agrees with you. We all thought it showed him in a worse light than usual.
His constant laughter seemed a "put-on" as well as failing to flatter his appearance. Surprising that Cameron was silly enough to follow the grief performance - did him no favours either.
N.B. Readers may enjoy the cover of the current Private Eye.