‘Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero’. That was Tony Blair’s withering assessment of his successor Gordon Brown. It is a description which could as easily be applied to Japan’s beleaguered prime minister Yoshihide Suga. The former chief cabinet secretary, long-time right-hand man and ‘brain’ of long serving PM Shinzo Abe is showing alarming Brownite tendencies in his handling of the media and political relationships. Amid plummeting poll ratings the rumour is that he’ll be lucky to make it to his first anniversary in power.
Like Gordon Brown, Suga took over as PM from a three-time election winner. The unexciting Shinzo Abe was no ‘Bambi’ Blair – though they had spouses who both attracted plenty of attention in the press – but both left under a cloud, which hangs over their successors (Iraq, in the case of Blair; and the Cherry blossom scandal for Abe). Suga and Brown also both had the misfortune of assuming the top job at a spectacularly inauspicious time, with Covid and the Olympics for the former to contend with, and the 2008 financial crash for the latter.
Like Gordon Brown, Suga’s lack of personal charm is a major weakness
It is hard to see how Suga can be blamed for the current problems, yet he is taking the brunt of the criticism anyway.
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