Well, no one can say that Gordon Brown hasn't started off in 2007 how he means to carry on. The Chancellor obviously believes that Tony Blair has long overstayed his welcome and is now pulling the red carpet rigorously from under his feet. After all, he doesn't want it too worn out by the time he walks on it. He is tired of waiting and perhaps hoped that Tony would have relinquished his keys by December 31st so that the new year heralded a new man, with new policies and a new government. No such luck! We are dealing with human beings here; ones who love to cling to power to their last breath so, it is small wonder Tony is hanging on by his teeth and being as obstinate as ever. However, having waited so long, Gordon can wait a little longer.
He probably feels that he has nothing to lose by being bold and everything to gain by putting Tony in a tight squeeze. However, the Chancellor has made a serious error, on top of the one he made a few months ago when he tacitly complied with colleagues to push Blair out. Gordon Brown is gradually showing, very clearly, that he's not a leader. An opportunist, maybe, but not for overall charge. He might be good at counting his money and balancing his figures but he is a crap leader. Leadership calls for keeping one's mouth shut, especially at the most difficult and sensitive times, not trying to upstage and hurry your boss along. Leadership is also about protecting your team, not being publicly divisive or showing how great you are. It means if you have nothing pleasant or positive to say about your rival, don't say it. That is far more charitable, dignified and advantageous in the long term.
Moreover, in today's celebrity-mad age, appealing to 51% of the voters - the women – by being darned attractive and sexy counts for something too. Gordon might be a man's man, strong and dependable in a masculine way, but he's no woman's man! So, at this moment in time, though a lot of male MPs hoping for some favours might be rooting for him, at the rate he is going, trying to show Tony Blair briskly to the door, Gordon will not last very long. Life is a circle and you can bet your last pound that what you give out will come back to haunt you. Gordon is behaving disgracefully and that is such a pity, when there can only be weeks left of Tony's tenure. The public, in fact, will be eyeing Gordon keenly to see what he does in Tony's twilight moments. It will say a lot, and today was not a good start.
Gordon has embarrassed Tony big time with his comment on Saddam Hussein's execution, saying it was 'unacceptable and deplorable". Regardless of how he felt, it was NOT his place to say it. He is not the current Prime Minister speaking on behalf of the country. His time will come, but it was not today. That was a very uncharitable and unprofessional thing to do, especially when he is still a member of Tony's cabinet. I think Tony has been silent on any public endorsement of his friend because he is gradually learning about the kind of character he is dealing with. For the purposes of taking charge of the country, Gordon's actions are demonstrating that we can do without a Prime Minister who publicly trumps his colleagues and is simply there for himself.
Personally, I cannot wait for Gordon to take over because, at the rate he is going, he will be rapidly propelling himself out the same door. Then we can move on to finding a real leader for the Labour Party, one with loyalty and trust, if it is not to go back into the wilderness for another 18 years.
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