Gordon Brown – 100 days in power

October 11, 2007 at 4:04 pm (Politics)

SINCE JUNE 27, there has been a mood of surprised satisfaction in Britain as Gordon Brown has assumed his responsibility as British prime minister with a revered calm in the face of several national crises.

One hundred days in and it appears his run of good press is beginning to wane as he comes under fire for hyping up what turned out to be a non-existent election. However, up to this weekend, the first chapter of the Brown era has reflected very positively on the Prime Minister, who has worked tirelessly at disassociating himself from 10 years of a Blair government.

So how is Brown paving the way for change and moving away from his predecessor? Many thought Brown would struggle to follow in the footsteps of Blair, a consummate political showman, but in the media spotlight, Brown has portrayed himself as a calm, collected and likable character. This composed style was a welcome change from the strident certainties of Blair but it is yet to be seen whether or not Brown can achieve a fresh political impact once he begins to implement his policies.

His initial and most symbolic step to date was his meeting with George Bush where he appeared to play down the ‘close relationship’ between the UK and US which Blair and Bush championed so often.

Since then, three key words have been prominent under the Brown regime: ‘change’, ‘vision’ and ‘Britain’. His quest to restore national pride conveniently combines with his promise that his government will listen more to the needs of the British citizen. His plans for constitutional reform have indicated that he believes the role of prime minister holds too much power; power he believes should be vested back into the British population.

Even though Brown is concerned with shaking off Blair’s legacy, his recent dwelling on whether or not to call an election has shown that he can be as equally cavalier with the concept of democracy. It will make us look again at why Brown drew attention to his calm authority in the face of bomb plots, flooding, foot and mouth out breaks and the Northern Rock crisis.

Despite all this, very little has been implemented which shows evidence of ‘change’ except a few sensible policy amendments. Now Parliament has been recalled, Brown finally has his opportunity to ‘change Britain’ and give the electorate the chance to find out whether or not Brown is a conviction politician or just a calculator.