James Forsyth James Forsyth

Brown should heed The Godfather’s advice

In The Observer’s feature on what will happen in 2009, Andrew Rawnselys says this about an early election:

“The case for an earlier election is that things will get worse for Labour. I don’t see [Gordon Brown] wanting to believe that. Such is his contempt for his Tory opponent, he will reckon that waiting will make sure that David Cameron is “found out” by the voters. In common with most leaders, the prime minister will also think that the people will grow to love him the longer they have to get to know him.”

This puts one in mind of that famous quote from Michael Corleone: “Never hate your enemies. It clouds your judgement.”

One of Brown’s greatest weaknesses is that he is too obsessed with dishing the Tories—that, after all, was the cause of the whole 10p tax debacle. As the pre-election jousting becomes more intense, this weakness could come to be Brown’s undoing.

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