03-20-2007, 12:28 PM
Britain's Brown eyes top job, but voters unconvinced
London - British Chancellor Gordon Brown delivers what may well be his last budget Wednesday with his long-held ambition of becoming prime minister virtually in his grasp -- but voters remain unconvinced.
Both the British public and members of his Labour Party seem as far as ever from showing enthusiasm for the Iron Chancellor, despite prolonged efforts to shed his image as a dour, workaholic Scotsman.
A new poll on the eve of his likely budget swansong confirmed that voters are distinctly unenthused, with young, modernizing opposition Tory leader David Cameron way ahead according to the latest figures.
An ICM survey for Tuesday's Guardian put support for a Brown-led Labour government at just 28 per cent, against 43 per cent for a Cameron-led Conservative administration.
The survey's findings underscore a long negative trend.
Since December 2005, when Cameron became leader of the Conservatives, which he has modernised and repositioned at the political centre, some 20 polls have predicted defeat for Labour under the austere Brown against the jovial Cameron.
Only two surveys, at the beginning of last year, have put the two men on equal footing.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has headed the Labour Party since July 1994, will have spent 10 years at 10 Downing Street on May 1. On Tuesday, the Labour leadership was due to set out the procedures for replacing him.
Blair's departure will indeed not trigger general elections as the new leader of the party that holds a decisive majority in parliament will automatically become prime minister.
Brown has awaited this moment since 1994, the date of a reported deal that has never materialized, under which Blair would cede the reigns of power to Brown after a few years in Downing Street.
While Brown's allies called him the most successful chancellor for a generation, presiding over growth with low inflation and falling unemployment, his critics have seen him for years as a schemer responsible for in-fighting.
Such criticism came to the fore again last September when Brown was accused of having orchestrated a coup by party rebels that forced Blair to pledge publicly that he would resign within a year.
He denied the charges, but doubts about Brown do not go away. One former cabinet colleague dubbed him a "control freak," while a serving minister forecast that voters would soon hanker for the return of Blair.
Brown is portrayed by his allies as a hard-working man of substance who will command the respect of his party and nation; he is a master of detail rather than a spinmeister.
Such a portrayal is a dig at Cameron and possibly Blair as well.
To loosen up his image, Brown, the son of a Presbyterian minister, has taken to flashing a smile and talking about his personal life, while also trying to defuse concerns among English voters about his Scottish background.
During a party speech last September, Brown said he acquired from his parents "an enduring set of values that put the needs and concerns of the British people first."
Concern over Brown's unexciting image seeps deep within the ruling Labour party.
In a survey early this month, some 73 per cent of Labour members supported an election contest within the party to succeed Blair, when he finally announces the exact date of his departure.
Labour's executive body was due to meet Tuesday to decide on the timetable for the party's leadership transition.
According to the British media, Blair might name the date on May 4 or 5, with most commentators forecasting he will leave office at the end of June or in July.
The Nation
London - British Chancellor Gordon Brown delivers what may well be his last budget Wednesday with his long-held ambition of becoming prime minister virtually in his grasp -- but voters remain unconvinced.
Both the British public and members of his Labour Party seem as far as ever from showing enthusiasm for the Iron Chancellor, despite prolonged efforts to shed his image as a dour, workaholic Scotsman.
A new poll on the eve of his likely budget swansong confirmed that voters are distinctly unenthused, with young, modernizing opposition Tory leader David Cameron way ahead according to the latest figures.
An ICM survey for Tuesday's Guardian put support for a Brown-led Labour government at just 28 per cent, against 43 per cent for a Cameron-led Conservative administration.
The survey's findings underscore a long negative trend.
Since December 2005, when Cameron became leader of the Conservatives, which he has modernised and repositioned at the political centre, some 20 polls have predicted defeat for Labour under the austere Brown against the jovial Cameron.
Only two surveys, at the beginning of last year, have put the two men on equal footing.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has headed the Labour Party since July 1994, will have spent 10 years at 10 Downing Street on May 1. On Tuesday, the Labour leadership was due to set out the procedures for replacing him.
Blair's departure will indeed not trigger general elections as the new leader of the party that holds a decisive majority in parliament will automatically become prime minister.
Brown has awaited this moment since 1994, the date of a reported deal that has never materialized, under which Blair would cede the reigns of power to Brown after a few years in Downing Street.
While Brown's allies called him the most successful chancellor for a generation, presiding over growth with low inflation and falling unemployment, his critics have seen him for years as a schemer responsible for in-fighting.
Such criticism came to the fore again last September when Brown was accused of having orchestrated a coup by party rebels that forced Blair to pledge publicly that he would resign within a year.
He denied the charges, but doubts about Brown do not go away. One former cabinet colleague dubbed him a "control freak," while a serving minister forecast that voters would soon hanker for the return of Blair.
Brown is portrayed by his allies as a hard-working man of substance who will command the respect of his party and nation; he is a master of detail rather than a spinmeister.
Such a portrayal is a dig at Cameron and possibly Blair as well.
To loosen up his image, Brown, the son of a Presbyterian minister, has taken to flashing a smile and talking about his personal life, while also trying to defuse concerns among English voters about his Scottish background.
During a party speech last September, Brown said he acquired from his parents "an enduring set of values that put the needs and concerns of the British people first."
Concern over Brown's unexciting image seeps deep within the ruling Labour party.
In a survey early this month, some 73 per cent of Labour members supported an election contest within the party to succeed Blair, when he finally announces the exact date of his departure.
Labour's executive body was due to meet Tuesday to decide on the timetable for the party's leadership transition.
According to the British media, Blair might name the date on May 4 or 5, with most commentators forecasting he will leave office at the end of June or in July.
The Nation