Woe is Brown
I've almost started to feel sorry for Gordon Brown. The poor man just doesn't get it. He was being interviewed by Nicky Campbell this morning on Five Live (amazing - he didn't run away!) and it sounded, as John Piennar put it afterwards, as if the presenter was having an argument with a tuba.
For his first question, Campbell asked Brown what his first thought was when he woke up today. How's my son? I need a coffee? Nope. The Prime Minister launched into an interminable drone about housing policy with his usual machine gun-like delivery.
In the run-up to his becoming PM, I wrote that not only was he not up to the job - I have long though he is the most over-rated political figure in living memory - he was also unelectable. When his poll ratings went through the roof, I was pilloried by someblogs for my stupidity. (This from Matthew Turner makes me smile.)
As we might discover on Friday, not only is he unelectable - so too is anyone tainted with the label Labur while he is PM.
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Bob
April 30th, 2008 8:53pmSo, Stephen, you would prefer to act like some celeb on a sofa with Richard and Judy? I may be wrong, but I seem to remember you ridiculing Blair for doing exactly that. A man of your intellect should be calling for more authenticity in politics, not more trivial show. Anyway, you've missed the main story in today's blogs, which is that Brown has triumphed over Humphrys in Today and over Cameron (the "shallow salesman") in PMQs. How awful to get on a bandwagon as it's being dismantled.
Michael Davies
May 1st, 2008 5:04amThe strange thing about Brown is that so many different weaknesses are concentrated in one person (boring, bullying, cowardice, dithering, insularity, awkwardness, cynicism, calculating, tactical, mendacious, bitterness, and resistant to challenge to name a few) - any one of which would be a sufficient bar to a successful premiership.
In fact, has been able to glide through 10 years in power without ever having these weaknesses tested, by occupying an aloof and distant perch as Chancellor, ruthlessly controlling access to himself and exposure to real politics. Had Blair moved him for just three months to the Home Office, his wheels would have come off, his weaknesses exposed and there would have been none of that 2007 nonsense about what a political giant, towering colossus etc etc his is.
For more on how Brown's personality failings underpin his continuing decline, try http://brown-out.blogspot.com
Ann
May 1st, 2008 9:40amAbsolutely, Michael. And you can add 'No people skills whatsoever', unless that is simply the end result of adding up all those negative traits you mentioned. But I think it's more than that. I think he dislikes people. Perhaps he should have been a computer programmer. Oh, no, hang on: he can't be, he's innumerate.
Stephen says: "I have long thought he is the most over-rated political figure in living memory". Snap - and I have been saying so publicly for many years ;-)
Bob, you live in fantasy land, I fear.
patricia
May 1st, 2008 12:50pmFunny how the Israeli supporting UK right wing media is so whole hearted in its hatred of Brown.
Not the labour party
Just Brown.
Why would that be?
Ann
May 1st, 2008 4:47pm'media' is a plural noun, thicko.