OFTEN portrayed as a dour Scot, Gordon Brown today admits candidly that he was “not an ideal fit” for the modern age of “touchy feely politics”.
In a deeply personal autobiography, the former Prime Minister suggests he felt uncomfortable in an era, where politicians would often wear their hearts on their sleeves to gain favour and votes.
He says: “The modern version of ‘connecting’ seems to increasingly include a public display of emotion with the latter – authentic or not – seen as evidence of a sincerity required for political success.
“In a far more touchy-feely era, our leaders speak of public issues in intensely personal ways and assume they can win votes simply by telling their electors that they ‘feel their pain’.
“For me, being conspicuously demonstrative is uncomfortable; to the point that it has taken me years, despite the urging of friends, to turn to writing this book.”
Mr Brown notes in Mt Life, Our Times how about half a century ago leaders were deemed self-absorbed and even out of touch if they were constantly self-referential in public.
“When I was asked why I was reluctant to talk about myself while other political leaders freely broadcast what they claimed to be their deepest feelings, I was always tempted to reply: why don’t you ask them why they are always speaking about themselves? What mattered, I thought, was how others might benefit from what I did for them as an active politician – not what I claimed to feel.”
He argues that his “failure” was not so much not wanting to let people in but, rather, resisting the pressure to cultivate an image that made the personal constantly public. “Reticence was the rule,” declares the former PM.
Of course, it was not unknown for Mr Brown to show a good deal of emotion on the political campaign. In the latter phase of the 2014 Scottish independence campaign many regarded his tub-thumping oratory in favour of the Union as key to helping secure a No vote.
But the former PM was sometimes criticised for his social awkwardness and apparent lack of public empathy.
This hit the headlines during the 2010 election campaign when he was forced to apologise to Rochdale pensioner Gillian Duffy, a Labour supporter, whom he branded a “bigoted woman” for expressing concern about immigration.
Mr Brown was famously filmed with his head in his hands as he was interviewed on radio about the incident. He later admitted to being “mortified” by it.
He insists he fully understands in a media-conscious age every politician has to lighten up to get a message across and that a sense of personal reserve can limit the appeal of a party leader.
“I am not, I hope, remote, offhand or uncommunicative. But if I wasn’t an ideal fit for an age when the personal side of politics had come to the fore, I hope people will come to understand this was not an aloofness or detachment or, I hope, insensitivity or a lack of emotional intelligence on my part.
“Really, to my mind, what mattered was not what I said about myself but simply what our government could do for our country.”
Further details in the memoirs are expected to include his views about the tragic death of his daughter Jennifer, the financial crash, his often tense relations in Downing St with Tony Blair and his important role during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, including the famous vow on devolving more powers to Holyrood.
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