To be fair to Mr Miliband, it is no different to what he has always said. And he is right that the way Clarke and Co have approached the whole issue has made it very hard for him to enter the race without prolonging the Blair-Brown feud into the next generation and thereby splitting the party.
Cynics will say there's a deal, and that Miliband must have been offered the Foreign Office, or something. Sceptics will say he hasn't uttered the magic words "If nominated I will not accept, if elected I will not serve."
For what it's worth, I think that if he isn't standing, it's probably for the simple reason that he recognises that, at the present time, Gordon will be a better Prime Minister than he would be.
4 comments:
It ought to end the speculation. Only problem is that it wasn't him who was speculating and a clear denial issued through a journalist's lips isn't a clear denial.
Truth is, as Miliband well knows, his public profile is neither high enough nor polished enough to deliver the votes.
In any case, if he stood and lost he knows bloody well that Broon would offer him a glittering ministerial career in the Falklands...
This isn't a recognition by Miliband that Brown will be a better PM. It's a recognition that the right of the party are casting around for any half credible candidate just to give Brown a bloody nose. Miliband knows this and, rightly, can't see the point in running a fruitless campaign. The way things are looking for Labour Brown is likely to have a limited shelf life as PM. Miliband can run once Brown has had his go and turned out to be the disaster so many of us think he will be.
Miliband would be a fool to stand. After his repeated comments that he wouldn't stand (even if designed to allow him the possibility of doing so later), any u-turn on this would do his reputation no good, either in the eyes of the Labour party or the general public: he would appear slippery and deceitful. Furthermore, the Government is due a hiding at the next election, and any "new leader" effect would have worn off by then.
Instead, he'd be far better off biding his time, waiting for Gordon to carry the can for many of Blair's failed policies and wars, as well as reaping the rewards of his own dubious handling of the economy. Then if Gordon is still PM, after waiting a few months for a suitable time to challenge, he could sell himself as the White Knight the party needs, who was prepared to do the decent thing and wait for Gordon to have his turn.
Hi Paul
This isn't a comment but I couldn't find an email address for you.
I'm trying to find out how to get into journalism (I've just finished a science PhD) and, since you were so nice about Forceful and Moderate, thought you might be a good person to ask!
If you're happy to exchange a couple of emails with me, I'm at forcefulandmoderate@yahoogroups.co.uk. I don't know whether you've got comment moderation in operation so don't want to post a personal email address.
With best wishes
Femme-de-R
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