A New Michael Foot: Gordon Brown's long walk on a short pier

[toxic avenger]

There's a very clear reason Brown is doing so badly, he's Scottish. Blair was born there, but was very middle-class English in every other way. Cameron is polite and midlle-class English. Brown is a Jock. He can't recover from that.

Rubbish. Brown lacks the Blair/Clinton charisma, and has been fooled into taking over just as the economy went tits up. He lacks management skillls and political judgement. He would never win an election as PM in his own right unless the opposition was totally moribund, and he knows it.

That might well all be the case, but I know the English, or that particular type, the type you need to win elections. And, as much as you don't believe me, his inherent Scottishness, compounded by the dour 'son of the manse' persona, is crippling him.

[Jozer]

Nonsense. Notdevson's post about him being neither likeable nor unpleasant but useful is far closer.

[toxic avenger]

Nonsense. Notdevson's post about him being neither likeable nor unpleasant but useful is far closer.

Well, I can only go on the people I know, and this is what I see. You are entitled to disagree, but I am fully convinced his Scottishness is a massive and unacknowledged handicap, rightly or wrongly.

[eurosceptic]

Not forgetting how he cheated the british people out of their promised say on Lisbon/EU Constitution.

[The Earl of Desmond]

He just isn't up to the job. The he mishandled the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, the way he has mishandled meeting the Dalai Lama - it's like he is thinking about things too much which makes people think he is a control freak and deeply insincere. A confident politicans would have gone to sign the treaty and made the most of the photo op to highlight the UK in the heart of the EU and would have met the Dalai Lama on the steps of Downing St the same way Blair and Major did. You wonder who his advisers are that they let these things happen or maybe they tell him but he just doesn't listen - which is more likely and again comes back to the control freak thing.

The best Labour can hope for now is to minimise how much it loses by when the election is and for there to be a hung parliament and either a minority Tory gov or a Tory/Lib pact - more likely as Clegg is a mini Tory. Then make sure that falls to pieces and then an election is caused and Labour win again but by then they'll have a new leader.

[Joe Ryan]

Its not as simple as Brown's scottishnss being against him. John Smith was significantly ahead of John Major in opinion polls after Black Monday and would have succeeded Major had he not died tragically in 1994. Smith was Scottish too.
It is clear that events are running against Brown as they did against Major in 1991. Major looked to be going out the door in 1991 but took the necessary actions to ensure a Tory victory against the odds.
Brown could always trash the economy and lie in the resulting campaign to win another 5 years as Major did in 1992. I wouldn't rule out aniither Sheffied moment for Cameron.

[Gladiator]

Mr Brown had "until the end of the year to change direction ...or I think it's the end of the pier".Surely Cowen can't fail to see the folly of funking an early poll before Fine Gael ditch Kenny?

I was wondering when the Kenny reference would come...I thought you were in danger of making your first contribution without a reference to the FG leadership...seriously, if I were Enda I'd think of having you registered as a stalker.

I agree. Stop beating up on Inda. He is doing his best to be dignified despite being surrounded by boorish clowns like James Reilly and Michael Ring. FG have come along way since 2002 under Inda. I do think that Cowen should call an election to affirm a mandate - which he doesn't have. Neither does Gordon Brown. It is clear now through recent polls and the by-election result that Britian no longer want Labour in government. But they are stuck with Brown for another 2yrs because he has no intention of calling an election because the result would mean re-linguishing power with immediate effect. Ditto Cowen. Cowen is untested. He hasn't been in power a month and already he is courting all the wrong headlines. As Shaun Connolly wrote in today's Examiner - he's a time-bomb ticking away....

[Respvblica]

Cowen is untested. He hasn't been in power a month and already he is courting all the wrong headlines. As Shaun Connolly wrote in today's Examiner - he's a time-bomb ticking away....

Good for the country. If he was half capable he might drag on and on and lead us through perpetual FF govt. It might be fortunate for us all that he is an unmitigated disaster in that it opens peoples eyes!

[Halibut]

Here's hoping he'll overturn the 'please everyone' approach of Ahern. Time to end this cruddery. A bloke from Cork screws up the nations train system. Will he back at work come monday? Yessir.