Mehdi Hasan

Mehdi Hasan’s polemical take on politics, economics and foreign affairs

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Is this the real Gordon Brown?

The Prime Minister is surprisingly fluid and even funny

By Mehdi Hasan Published 23 July 2009 16:53

Here is Gordon Brown speaking in Oxford on Tuesday at the annual, invitation-only TED conference in Oxford. Is this the real Gordon Brown?

Downing Street aides are rightly pleased with their boss's performance - one emailed me this morning to say "it's an accurate capturing of GB the man and what makes him tick"

Brown, as you can see in the video, is speaking without notes for 17 minutes, and with real passion and energy. The public - rather than a gathering of techies and geeks in Oxford - will have to see far more of this rather appealing side of "GB" in the run-up to next May if he is going to have any chance of clinging onto power.

 
 

2 comments

Labour Matters's picture

Thu, 2009-07-23 17:06 — Labour Matters

I think the format works rather well for him, better than simply doing head & shoulders. Perhaps a series of public meetings should be organised for the Autumn?

It would be ironic indeed if the old political skills and formats turned out to be the saving of Gordon & Labour.

JS1's picture

Thu, 2009-07-23 18:58 — JS1

Brown does appear to be speaking with 'passion and energy' in this clip. But it was always unlikely to last for very long.

Simon Carr says in the Independent that 'Gordon the Bore is on again' - a reference to the PMs final press conference he gave at Downing Street on Wednesday.

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