Gordon Brown's press conference was very frightening. Truly scary. Brown has no doubt that he is the man to lead the country and to lead the Labour Party.
The most notable thing about the press conference was that there was nothing that anyone could ask him and nothing that could happen to make him even consider that he might be damaging his party, let alone that his weakness might be damaging the country. He lost a minister in the middle of the conference, and all he could do was pull a name out of the air, elevating Glenys Kinnock to the House of Lords. Questions as to whether he should resign or seek a mandate were not considered on their merits, but simply answered by Brown's old mantra that he will continue working for the country.
2 comments:
I would not expect a politician to evince major doubts. That is a bridge too far. However, I would expect him to look at certainties, one of which is that a government in decay is a government in need of a public mandate.
Mrs Thatcher appeared to have no doubts about many things, but she was on a strong platform with a clear agenda - which you could either accept or not.
The problem with Brown is that he evinces certainty with vacuous rhetoric, devoid of meaning and filled with ambiguity - a very convenient way to inbuild plausible deniability.
Thanks for linking to me.
I do see your point, and agree with you.
Politicians cannot be expected to show their doubts openly, and Thatcher did not. However politicians should have enough doubts to listen to their critics and give reasoned response, suggesting they have thought about the idea they might be wrong. Stories from people who worked closely with her suggest that Thatcher did have her doubts. I get a very strong impression that on this issue Brown actually has none.
Thanks for reading, and for commenting!
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