World Watch
April 30, 2010 6:05 AM

Gordon Brown, You've Lost It

By
Tucker Reals
Topics
In The News ,
World Watch
This news analysis was written by CBSNews.com's Tucker Reals in London.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown lost Thursday night's final election debate, and his disturbing performance was likely the dying breath of his Labour Party's campaign to cling to the power it's held for 13 years.

After insulting life-long Labour voter Gillian Duffy (and millions of like-minded voters) a day earlier in the British political gaffe of the year, Brown proceeded to present himself onstage as the menacing, dour Scotsman his own henchmen have no doubt come to fear.

He seemed, at best, nervous. In his worst moments, Brown's dire warnings of economic collapse should the government be entrusted to anyone but himself made him come across as angry, bitter and vaguely frightening. Conservative opponent David Cameron repeated his own party's refrain, that Brown was fear-mongering. Thursday night, that is exactly how Brown came across.

Cameron won the debate by giving his best-yet television performance. Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader who rocketed to national prominence in the first of the debates, held his own and will enter election week as a strong contender -- a first for the Lib Dems since their creation in the 1990s.

More on Britain's Election:

U.K.'s Gordon Brown Calls Supporter a "Bigot"
Video: Gordon Brown's Gaffe
Nick Clegg: Stealing Britain's Change
Meet Nick Clegg: U.K.'s 3rd Party Comes of Age

Sky News has proven that politics, in this video-mad day and age, is down to acting. The network took 20 Britons, and let 10 of them listen to the debate on the radio and the other 10 watch it on television.

The radio listeners gave Brown the victory. He gave more facts, more evidence and seemed to have a better grasp on the big topics than Cameron, who stayed vague but positive, or Clegg, who's very big, untested ideas for change likely seemed like too much of a gamble for a nation still reeling from the recession.

But, unfortunately for Labour, the vast majority of the nation could see Brown -- impossibly awkward smirks, angry grimaces, wrinkly consternation and all.

Cameron, I think, stands a better chance of winning an outright majority in next Thursday's election now than he has in the last three weeks.

In his opening remarks, he hit the nail on the head when he presented voters with what many will view as a very harsh reality: the only way to ensure a decisively different government comes to power after the election is by electing the Conservative Party.

Vote for his party next Thursday, as he put it, "and we can get to work on Friday."

The Liberal Democrats can't win enough seats in Parliament the way the British electoral map is drawn up to form the next government, so Clegg is almost guaranteed not to become prime minister -- this year.

If the Lib Dems gain enough seats to prevent a Conservative majority government, then the two diametrically opposed parties may have to try and forge a coalition -- that could take weeks to hammer out, leaving uncertainty for financial markets and the wider country.

The only thing that Thursday night's debate made any clearer, is that Gordon Brown, who's party was already trailing in the polls, has likely managed to cement its loss next week in the space of just 48 fateful hours.

  • Tucker Reals

    Tucker Reals is a senior news editor and overnight site editor for CBSNews.com, based at CBS News' London bureau.

Add a Comment
by scottyusa May 1, 2010 6:29 AM EDT
It is ironic that Obama is trying to make us like Britain and the Brits are trying to change.
Reply to this comment
by j_flood May 1, 2010 6:24 AM EDT
Not sure the vast majority of the nation of some 60 million 'saw' Mr. Brown, as the number of viewers was pegged at a mere 9.1 million for the last debate, actually the highest viewership of the three debates.
Reply to this comment
by bundye April 30, 2010 10:55 AM EDT
Gordon Brown, sometimes "silence is golden".
Reply to this comment
by jackp32 April 30, 2010 9:40 AM EDT
Gordon Brown you are a left wing lunatic.
Reply to this comment
by roger_inkart April 30, 2010 12:55 PM EDT
How so? You have no idea what you're talking about.
by CoastalExchange April 30, 2010 7:56 AM EDT
Remember, Liberal and Conservative mean different things outside the US. Don't assume the "conservatives" are like US republicans.
Reply to this comment
by tuathadedannan April 30, 2010 2:10 PM EDT
Liberal and conservative are hard enough to define inside the U.S..
Most people come to either ideology more through a gut level decision than on anything else.
by antoniof123 April 30, 2010 6:53 AM EDT
I think Great Britain has had enough of the conservatives and are going to move to the liberals now for a while.
Reply to this comment
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