Monday, December 11, 2006

Gordon Brown: At Last They Get It

The only thing I really care about in British politics is Gordon Brown. I don't think Blair has been much of a Prime Minister and I find it hard to form any clear views on Cameron, but I have always known intuitively that Brown would be a hundred times worse than either. The man's instincts are vengeful, punitive, tribal and, when it comes to money, distinctly tricky. What I have never understood is why, given his persecution of their core readers and the polls that consistently show his deep unpopularity, the press has given him such an easy ride. I suppose it's our economic success, but the more you look at that, the less it seems to be his doing. Furthermore, try as I may, I can find no evidence whatsoever of the supposedly great Brown intellect. In some addle-headed way, he seems to want to create a monstrous political chimera out of Neocon moral and old Labour economic attitudes, out of, in short, two of the most comprehensively failed ideologies to be found on the shelves of the Kwiki Mart that is contemporary political thought.
But, at last, it seems, the tide has turned. My own paper has written a wonderfully scathing leader about the man. Hamish McRae in the Independent on Sunday has taken apart his dodgy figures. And with characteristically cool brilliance, Vicki Woods has quietly exposed the rank injustice embedded in Brown's attitudes. The 'libertarian' bloggers can shout and scream, the political columnists can rant and the Tories can shake their tiny fists, but Woods' infinitely subtle, indirect style gets to the heart of the matter. Brown hates our guts.

5 comments:

  1. ...The 'libertarian' bloggers can shout and scream...

    Why would we do that?

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  2. I agree with you on Brown, Bryan. I never watch TV so I probably am less in touch than most, as all my news I read in the papers. From that perspective, one just reads this endless Blair bashing which makes me feel somewhat sorry for the guy. He strikes me as a basically OK sort of person, definitely compared with his immediate predecessors.
    Camreon schameron, who are all these Tory leaders? Smarmy guys who will say anything to get elected.
    Lib Dems, out of depth, inefficient and stupid (over loans).
    But I can't help feeling that any of the above would be better than Gordon Brown, I particularly hate this "annointed leader" aspect, as I happen to live in a democracy where leaders are voted for, last time I looked.

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  3. Brown displays the very worst characteristics for a polititian, he is essentally a bully, a contol freak, he can't handle difficult questions, he just runs away...but he has the fault of thinking he knows better that anyone else on how to live their lives, spend their money, save the world and so on.If he becomes PM, he will either have a break down or we will see rioting on the streets, there is nothing, not a single benefit that he can bring to this nation.

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  4. Because that's what some of them seem to do, James. Glad you are on board, Maxine, also Hedgy.

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  5. My ship was on the Rotterdam run for a few days so I've missed this about the BLEAK BEADLE with his Gradgrind attitude towards a few aged Plymouth Brethren. He'll be taxing my ship next, forcing me into piracy.

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