As I watched Gordon Brown outside Downing Street yesterday, announcing his intention to step down as Labour Leader, my thoughts were first and foremost ones of great sadness and injustice, tinged with a not insignificant amount of anger.
For all his faults, and he has been among the first to admit them, I believe history will be kind to Gordon Brown and he will be remembered primarily for his leading role in stemming the global economic crisis. When the moment came Gordon Brown stepped up to the plate and other world leaders followed. It is easy to forget (or purposely disregard) his starring and pivotal role, but had decisive action not been taken, our entire financial system could have collapsed with inconceivable consequences, far beyond those we are currently facing, which already are on an unprecedented scale and of eye-watering magnitude.
But in much of the populist media you certainly won't find any praise, let alone recognition for this pivotal role played by Britain and a British Prime Minister on the world stage. Instead, what we have seen is a sustained, vindictive and frankly undemocratic attack on Gordon Brown. We have witnessed a deeply personal character assassination by the right-wing print and audiovisual media which goes beyond the bounds of acceptability and into a new realm, which for any advocate of democracy should raise serious questions over the role the media plays in our political system, and the influence it is able to exert over public opinion.
But resign Gordon Brown has and as a strong supporter of his, both professionally and personally, I am disappointed at his departure but I do recognise that in the face of both the outcome of the general election and the crescendo of hostile media vilification, the writing was engraved on the wall.
For all his faults, and he has been among the first to admit them, I believe history will be kind to Gordon Brown and he will be remembered primarily for his leading role in stemming the global economic crisis. When the moment came Gordon Brown stepped up to the plate and other world leaders followed. It is easy to forget (or purposely disregard) his starring and pivotal role, but had decisive action not been taken, our entire financial system could have collapsed with inconceivable consequences, far beyond those we are currently facing, which already are on an unprecedented scale and of eye-watering magnitude.
But in much of the populist media you certainly won't find any praise, let alone recognition for this pivotal role played by Britain and a British Prime Minister on the world stage. Instead, what we have seen is a sustained, vindictive and frankly undemocratic attack on Gordon Brown. We have witnessed a deeply personal character assassination by the right-wing print and audiovisual media which goes beyond the bounds of acceptability and into a new realm, which for any advocate of democracy should raise serious questions over the role the media plays in our political system, and the influence it is able to exert over public opinion.
But resign Gordon Brown has and as a strong supporter of his, both professionally and personally, I am disappointed at his departure but I do recognise that in the face of both the outcome of the general election and the crescendo of hostile media vilification, the writing was engraved on the wall.
Thank you for this well written tribute and the obvious truth contained within. I do wonder why the press became so personal, why? He was a political giant,here and all over the world, history will ensure that his role is engraved!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we should all be very proud of Gordon Brown, Glenis. I suspect that many people who didn't vote Labour this time will very soon realise that calls for "change" were all very well but the grubby coalition that we are now saddled with is only likely to jeopardise the services that we cherish so much and alter things for the worse. The right-wing media coverage of Gordon and our Party was bad enough but I would have expected more of certain newspapers who it is clear were now duped into endorsing the Liberal Democrats with devastating consequences.
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