More realism about Gordon Brown (part 2)

Adam Boulton on his Sky News blog today has a report on Gordon Brown's visit to Uganda (my comments in italics):

"Opinion polls are atrocious for Labour, the Northern Rock Bank is failing, the government has lost the identity data on 25 million people getting Child benefit, ex-military top brass are ganging up to accuse the Prime Minister of neglecting the armed services, a Commons Committee says the MoD lost taxpayers millions selling off Qinetiq far too cheap, England can’t play football…

So the Prime Minister spent his morning at an African Primary School giving away signed copies of his book, ‘Courage’, as form prizes...."


Weird, simply weird. First what is it with Gordon Brown and visiting schools and secondly isn't giving copies of his books a touch egocentric?


Adam Boulton continues "but one does begin to wonder if Gordon Brown is cut out for the top job. He does not have a great deal of natural charisma and at times seems a little, well, plodding.

Take today’s trip to St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Kampala.

Mr Brown told an old joke about asking a class if any of them wanted to be a politician when they grew up and none of them did. In fact he had asked a class just that a few minutes before but one small child had put his hand up."

Gordon Brown has got to realise that he can't do jokes. Tony Blair could do jokes, as could John Major, Margaret Thatcher was not a funny Prime Minister but she didn't try to be, Ted Heath had a sense of humour, as did Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. Gordon Brown reminds me of that really odd accountant who gets a little tipsy at the Xmas party and tells "amusing anecdotes", whilst the rest of the office staff look embarrassed.


"The Prime Minister compared his old school motto: ‘I will do my utmost’ with theirs: ‘As much as I can’ , but didn’t point out that they amount to different ways of saying the same thing."

Analysis is not Gordon Brown's strong point, I suppose one day we will find out what his strong point is.


"And he told the children they went to “the best school in Uganda, with the best teachers”, even though sitting within earshot were fifty teachers from other Ugandan schools who had come specially to take part in a citizens jury for him. Not very tactful!""

So tact isn't his strong point either! The search continues.