Politics | 11 August 2007

Brown has handled the crises well, but let’s not forget he is to blame for many of them

There has been something almost Biblical about the challenges which Gordon Brown has had to contend with since moving into 10 Downing Street. It started with the curiously unseasonal weather, which plunged London into darkness one July lunchtime. Then floods which submerged Middle England, and now livestock pestilence, albeit at just two farms. There have been no locusts or frogs (yet), but it already seems as if the gods are testing the Prime Minister’s crisis-management skills.

They found Mr Brown ready, waiting for them. He realises that crises mean showtime in modern politics, and that how a leader reacts to them shapes his reputation. Prompt and assured action, as seen from Rudy Giuliani after the 11 September attacks, can store up political capital for years. Confused and shambolic behaviour (viz Black Wednesday) can kill political careers on the spot.