"What is clear is that, having decided there will not be an election this year or maybe even next, the Prime Minister is now digging in for the long haul.
There is a clear political logic to this. Possession is nine-tenths of the law and as things stand, Mr Brown does not have to give up the lease on 10 Downing Street until May 2010.
Even if he were to go on until then and lose, he will still have had nearly three years as Prime Minister in which to lay down some kind of long-term legacy, in the hope that history might judge him rather better than his contemporaries.
And of course, there is always just a chance that he might win, if he can govern competently and sensibly enough for the public to change their mind about him again."
The piece can be read in full HERE.
1 comment:
Sound reasoning in many ways.
Unfortunately, the same sound reasoning did not help Arthur Balfour - who ran an extremely efficient reforming administration between 1902 and 1905, but was dogged by questions about his integrity, a lightweight cabinet, and a divided and exhausted party that had not been fully in opposition for 20 years.
I think Brown may end up the same way - doing a lot of useful tinkering, but never really leaving a lasting impression. He strikes me as the ideal civil servant. Shame that he's a politician!
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