I didn’t think Gordon Brown’s narcissistic statements of principle could get more embarrassing. The idea that he is driven by his presbyterian conscience was bad enough, but this Washingtonian nonsense about being taught by his father to always be honest is just hide-behind-the-sofa excruciating.
It’s been my experience that people’s own mythology of themselves is often completely out of kilter with the way other people see them. Gordon Brown appears to have no self-knowledge at all.
Richard Reeves, the director of Demos put it very well on Newsnight tonight when he said that James Purnell has simply said what he believed to be the case and that this is a refreshing change for a politician. The contrast between Purnell and Brown could not be greater. It was fascinating that Peter Hain took the opprortunity to praise his successor at Work and Pensions as a man of honour.
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