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Brown marks first year in turmoil
After an often restive ten-year wait to wrest Britain's highest office from his charismatic predecessor Tony Blair, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed to offer an antidote to the former leader's sometimes synthetic charms.
- AP
- Published: 00:04 June 28, 2008
London: Honest, straight-talking government. Out with sound bites, in with intellect. A serious man, for troubled times.
After an often restive ten-year wait to wrest Britain's highest office from his charismatic predecessor Tony Blair, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed to offer an antidote to the former leader's sometimes synthetic charms.
"Not flash, just Gordon," a billboard poster for Brown proclaimed, seeking to define him as serious and statesmanlike.
As Brown became leader, a year ago yesterday, his supporters trusted him to usher in an era of competence and integrity, and turn the page on the Iraq War debacle - in which Blair was a key player.
Bad luck
But today Brown is in turmoil - his credibility demolished by bad economic luck, a cascade of government blunders and a seemingly chronic inability to make decisions.
The once-admired Treasury chief has been routed in municipal elections and has seen his governing Labour Party slump to its lowest opinion poll rating in decades.
As he has for much of the last year, Brown woke yesterday to bad news.
His party finished fifth in a special election held Thursday in the affluent southern England district of Henley - behind the far-right British National Party and only marginally ahead of Bananaman Owen of the Monster Raving Looney Party.
Few predict Brown will win a national election in 2010, and critics wonder whether he shall lead his party into that vote.
"Gordon Brown's first year has brought the Labour Party to the edge of extinction," Labour legislator John McDonnell said.
Despite his woes, Brown may yet recover. Tricky legislation on terror laws and stem cell research has been guided through Parliament.
Sunder Katwala, head of leftist Fabian Society think tank, insists Brown's troubles aren't terminal.
"There's a lot of politics left in this yet, but it's up to Brown to get back to making the political weather."
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