tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3553440626649035970.post9054065146260818686..comments2023-12-10T16:30:24.965+00:00Comments on Max Atkinson's Blog: Gordon Brown's dirty dozen (as confessed to Piers Morgan)Max Atkinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06163447049027217653noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3553440626649035970.post-84909826227526621342010-02-18T12:49:00.694+00:002010-02-18T12:49:00.694+00:00Yes, but the big question is: does he really belie...Yes, but the big question is: does he really believe that the party would have won a landslide victory in 1997, let alone two more victories if he, rather than Blair had been leader? <br /><br />I very much doubt that they would have done. What's more, I'd been recommending Blair, rather than Smith, to succeed Kinnock - mainly on the grounds that I'd already been so impressed by his speaking & communication skills.<br /><br />There's another post on why, 6 years ago, I thought Labour would be unwise to replace Blair with Brown here: http://bit.ly/7j53iq<br /><br />And, when Blair did finally go, the smartest thing Brown could have done would have been to pass the torch to the next generation (Milibands, etc.) on the grounds that he wanted to spend more time with his (very young) family, which would have been perfectly understandable, given that one of his children has a very nasty illness. <br /><br />That way, he would have gone down in history as a thoroughly admirable/honorable chap who was willing to put country before party and family before personal ambition - after which he could have graduated to become a much respected elder statesman - rather than being remembered as a ditherer who seriously damaged his his party by failing to call an early election that they'd almost certainly have won.Max Atkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06163447049027217653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3553440626649035970.post-37092024429816712992010-02-17T22:27:31.632+00:002010-02-17T22:27:31.632+00:00Look Tony, you might not know this, but John has d...Look Tony, you might not know this, but John has died, we have got to sort this out.<br /><br />It would appear that within minutes of John Smiths death, the succession to the leadership was on Browns mind - before Blair may have even know he had died.<br /><br />No wonder he was bitter when it went to Blair!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com