Martin Bright has written on his new blog, The Bright Stuff, that "Whitehall officials have been ordered to make a compilation DVD of Obama's various apologies to the American TV networks to be studied by the Prime Minister."
This follows Barack Obama's frank admission that he "screwed up" over his attempted appointment of Tom Daschle. Obama has won plaudits for the good grace of his confession of fault.
If Bright is correct, it seems Brown's advisers have come to the decision that unless Brown makes a mea culpa, he is doomed electorally. With Labour polling once again under 30 percent, something drastic needs to be done. Labour cannot put all their eggs into the 'G20 summit meeting with Obama' basket which is likely to prove insufficient in any case - and they probably know this.
His advisers will have their work cut out, however.
More...
Brown continues to ridiculously boast that we are "best placed" to weather the recession; refuses to admit "British jobs for British workers" was a grave error of judgement; refuses to admit he was completely wrong to have said he "abolished boom and boom;" refuses to admit we are in a "bust" (though bizarrely will admit we are in recession - how are the two not one and the same?); and worst of all, continues with his strategy of blaming everything on America and not taking any responsibility for his actions over the past 11 years.
The latter is the most serious obstacle to any credible, wholehearted mea culpa.
The idea that Brown will give a humble, 'Obama-style' apology in a self-deprecating manner is difficult to believe.
First, the man is in denial. He seems to honestly believe he has done nothing wrong; that it was not his fault that Britain has the biggest Budget deficit in the world; that Britain is the most indebted country in the world; that he designed our regulatory system that failed; and that he failed to curb the excesses of our financial services sector and call time on debt and the over-supply of money in the boom years which lies at the root of our particular troubles.
Second, he is unlikely to apologise because it this a huge character flaw of his - the man simply does not do apologies. Psychologically he just cannot bring himself to admit regret or mistakes because that, in his mind, makes him look weak and vulnerable rather than strong. He will see any admission of guilt as an electoral gift to the Tories.
Third, if Brown decides to play against type and go ahead, or was persuaded to do so, I doubt it would work because Brown, to put it bluntly, is a lousy actor. If this was Tony Blair we were talking about, you just know he would be able to pull it off even if he didn't mean a word he said. Brown, on the other and, will be incapable of looking convincing. Brown will be unable to pull off a Blair-style "masochism strategy."
Fourth, any apology is likely to fall short of what is necessary because of Brown's unwillingness to give his opponents too much ammunition and thus will feel underwhelming. His opponents will attack him for conveniently glossing over certain issues. It will only work if it is fulsome but this would undermine his current strategy (see below). But if it was seen as only a part apology his critics would continue to raise the issues he avoided demanding a further apology. A part apology would be the worst of all words.
Fifth, and finally, a mea culpa would mean Brown would have to adopt a completely new strategy and he is unlikely to want to change course - because again it will look like he has been following the wrong path during the past few months (not to mention years). He would no longer be able to just blame America as he will have admitted some responsibility lies at home - and most importantly, with him. If he gave a full apology he would admit he borrowed and spent too much money; allowed the deficit to grow too large; failed to run a surplus in the boom years; failed to design a financial regulatory system that was fit for purpose; and failed to call time on household debt and the over-supply of money. If Brown admits to all that – which would constitute a full apology – then not only will he have just agreed with the Tory critique of him, but it will also mean he could no longer pursue his policy of borrowing and spending more money to fight the recession as he will have admitted they were some of the causes for Britain’s recession – the worst in the developed world, according to the IMF.
For these reasons, I’d be amazed if Brown did a full mea culpa. However, if he does go ahead, it seems clear to me that Brown can study all the Obama DVDs he wants, but unless he truly believes he is culpable his mea culpa will be half-hearted and consequently will do more harm than good.
My gut instinct is that any apology will be similar to the bankers' apologies yesterday. He will say he is sorry in a general sense, but downplay any personal failings. It would be more of an apology about what the government did not do - properly regulate the banks, secure global economic early warning system (blah blah blah) - rather than what he did do - debt, deficit, over-supply of money etc. This will enable him to say sorry but pin the blame on others in reality without taking any genuine responsibility for his own actions.
As i argued above, a part apology would be insufficient and ill-advised.
This follows Barack Obama's frank admission that he "screwed up" over his attempted appointment of Tom Daschle. Obama has won plaudits for the good grace of his confession of fault.
If Bright is correct, it seems Brown's advisers have come to the decision that unless Brown makes a mea culpa, he is doomed electorally. With Labour polling once again under 30 percent, something drastic needs to be done. Labour cannot put all their eggs into the 'G20 summit meeting with Obama' basket which is likely to prove insufficient in any case - and they probably know this.
His advisers will have their work cut out, however.
More...
Brown continues to ridiculously boast that we are "best placed" to weather the recession; refuses to admit "British jobs for British workers" was a grave error of judgement; refuses to admit he was completely wrong to have said he "abolished boom and boom;" refuses to admit we are in a "bust" (though bizarrely will admit we are in recession - how are the two not one and the same?); and worst of all, continues with his strategy of blaming everything on America and not taking any responsibility for his actions over the past 11 years.
The latter is the most serious obstacle to any credible, wholehearted mea culpa.
The idea that Brown will give a humble, 'Obama-style' apology in a self-deprecating manner is difficult to believe.
First, the man is in denial. He seems to honestly believe he has done nothing wrong; that it was not his fault that Britain has the biggest Budget deficit in the world; that Britain is the most indebted country in the world; that he designed our regulatory system that failed; and that he failed to curb the excesses of our financial services sector and call time on debt and the over-supply of money in the boom years which lies at the root of our particular troubles.
Second, he is unlikely to apologise because it this a huge character flaw of his - the man simply does not do apologies. Psychologically he just cannot bring himself to admit regret or mistakes because that, in his mind, makes him look weak and vulnerable rather than strong. He will see any admission of guilt as an electoral gift to the Tories.
Third, if Brown decides to play against type and go ahead, or was persuaded to do so, I doubt it would work because Brown, to put it bluntly, is a lousy actor. If this was Tony Blair we were talking about, you just know he would be able to pull it off even if he didn't mean a word he said. Brown, on the other and, will be incapable of looking convincing. Brown will be unable to pull off a Blair-style "masochism strategy."
Fourth, any apology is likely to fall short of what is necessary because of Brown's unwillingness to give his opponents too much ammunition and thus will feel underwhelming. His opponents will attack him for conveniently glossing over certain issues. It will only work if it is fulsome but this would undermine his current strategy (see below). But if it was seen as only a part apology his critics would continue to raise the issues he avoided demanding a further apology. A part apology would be the worst of all words.
Fifth, and finally, a mea culpa would mean Brown would have to adopt a completely new strategy and he is unlikely to want to change course - because again it will look like he has been following the wrong path during the past few months (not to mention years). He would no longer be able to just blame America as he will have admitted some responsibility lies at home - and most importantly, with him. If he gave a full apology he would admit he borrowed and spent too much money; allowed the deficit to grow too large; failed to run a surplus in the boom years; failed to design a financial regulatory system that was fit for purpose; and failed to call time on household debt and the over-supply of money. If Brown admits to all that – which would constitute a full apology – then not only will he have just agreed with the Tory critique of him, but it will also mean he could no longer pursue his policy of borrowing and spending more money to fight the recession as he will have admitted they were some of the causes for Britain’s recession – the worst in the developed world, according to the IMF.
For these reasons, I’d be amazed if Brown did a full mea culpa. However, if he does go ahead, it seems clear to me that Brown can study all the Obama DVDs he wants, but unless he truly believes he is culpable his mea culpa will be half-hearted and consequently will do more harm than good.
My gut instinct is that any apology will be similar to the bankers' apologies yesterday. He will say he is sorry in a general sense, but downplay any personal failings. It would be more of an apology about what the government did not do - properly regulate the banks, secure global economic early warning system (blah blah blah) - rather than what he did do - debt, deficit, over-supply of money etc. This will enable him to say sorry but pin the blame on others in reality without taking any genuine responsibility for his own actions.
As i argued above, a part apology would be insufficient and ill-advised.
No comments:
Post a Comment