Brown attempts damage control

Gordon Brown’s performance on Sunday AM this morning did little to repair the damage that has been done to his reputation. Brown kept stressing that he had a “duty to consider” an early election but never explained why it took him so long to rule it out. He talked endlessly about how he wanted to set out his vision for the country but didn’t give even a hint of what it was. While his insistence that “the easiest thing I could have done is called an election” sounded disingenuous in the light of this morning’s polls. David Cameron’s charge that Brown is “treating people like fools” will resonate if Brown carries on like this.

The challenge now for Brown is to restore his reputation. At the moment he looks weak, indecisive and scheming—quite a blow to a man who has been putting himself forward as a strong leader guided by his moral compass.