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Mehdi on Misunderestimating Miliband

My piece in today's Guardian.

By Mehdi Hasan

I have a comment piece in today’s Guardian that takes on the growing army of critics of the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, and also manages to plug my new biography of him (co-authored with James Macintyre).

I quote George W Bush’s famous malaproprism (“They misunderestimated me”) and point out that:

. . . the commentariat’s hysterical predictions can be safely ignored by the Labour leader and his team. Those pundits who believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, predicted a landslide victory for David Cameron at the general election and expected a stroll for David Miliband in the Labour leadership race have little credibility when it comes to forecasting.

Indeed, his critics in parliament and the press are wasting their time; Miliband isn’t going anywhere any time soon. He has his eye on the prize — 10 Downing Street. A close family friend says Ed told him that he had dreamed of being prime minister “as a teenager”.

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Read the full piece here.

And you can read Sunder Katwala’s review of our book — due to be published in this weekend’s Observerhere.

 

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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