David Miliband’s decision to give up on British politics and take up the post of chief executive of the International Rescue Committee is an intriguing one. The former Foreign Secretary and once future Prime Minister said he was hoping to put a definitive end to the soap opera surrounding his rivalry with his more successful and ruthless younger brother.
As his friend Philip Collins wrote in his Times column this week (£), the older Miliband has made a series of poor decisions. He chose not to stand against Gordon Brown in 2007, and he chose not to resign when James Purnell stood down from Gordon Brown’s Cabinet in June 2009. These two decisions suggested he did not have the killer instinct necessary for leadership, and so it proved to be when he failed to win the Labour leadership against his hungrier brother.
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