British Prime Minister Gordon Brown: So Far So Good

LONDON, July 2, 2007 — -- No one, not even his arch political enemies, are suggesting that new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is enjoying the current terror crisis, but he seems to have benefited politically, nonetheless.

The botched firebomb attack at Glasgow airport and the interception of two car bombs in London have created an unexpected, and mandatory, stage on which Brown is defining his crisis leadership style.

In the immediate aftermath of the Glasgow incident, Brown addressed the nation live on TV. The statement, in which he urged the public to be vigilant and vowed to never give in to terror, was brief enough to be replayed in its entirety on all news channels and loaded with extractable short bites for later news shows and reporter's packages.

In a random, informal sampling of opinion on the streets of London, some people were sympathetic to Brown.

Andrea Macini, 34, who has lived here for 12 years, told ABC News, "It's a shame. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now. He's been in the chair for a week and he's already not sleeping at night."

Peter Oborne, a right wing conservative British political commentator, who is certainly not a natural ally of the ruling Labour Party, had a surprising score card for Brown. He told ABC News, "I think the role of a political leader in this sort of crisis is mainly choosing the right words and letting the security services get on with their jobs. I think he [Brown] got off to a good start."

Oborne added, "He is proving to be politically adroit, with brilliant political positioning, with his new Cabinet — which already embraces a former member of the Conservative Party — and he has appointed others who are outside of elective politics. He has marginalized the Conservatives, and it's very clever. He is much smarter than people realized."

That, of course, is a worry for the opposition Conservative Party, whose job mandate it is to pick holes in the policies and practices of the ruling party.

There had been widespread reporting in the media that the Tories thought that Brown would carry his image of a boorish political strongman to No. 10 Downing St. Instead, on the day he took power, Brown was seen on TV smiling more than he might have been seen doing so for the previous 10 years.

Did the Conservatives have the wrong playbook on Brown? "There was a [Tory] calculation that Brown will be easier to beat at the next election [about two years from now] than the recently resigned PM Tony Blair, which will probably turn out to be wrong," said Oborne. "It makes life difficult for the Conservative. It squeezes the political space out of Tory leader David Cameron."

One of Brown's most effective political assets, it seems, is that people are starting to compare him favorably to Blair. Oborne said: "I think there is something less meretricious about Gordon Brown's political style, compared to Tony Blair. He emphasizes the national role of at PM, rather than the factional role of a party leader."

Oborne added, "Blair was very polished. He emphasized his own role, and I think there is something more modest and restrained about the way Gordon Brown acts as a spokesman for the nation, which is quite reassuring. I find it [Brown's technique] very attractive myself. I thought that Tony Blair was a narcissistic figure. I felt that he was rather un-British, actually. I felt that he was very much emphasizing his own achievements all the time. Brown is coming across, for me, as much more sensible and British — but it's early days."

Another potential plus for Brown is that even though he supported Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq, he has appointed some new ministers who opposed the Iraq War. Thus, there is a subtle effort to distance himself from his former boss, whom many Britons blame for the increased terrorist threat at home.

"Blair's decisions on the war definitely have to do with it [U.K. terror]," said London resident Kate Woodman. "He [Brown] was high up in the government anyway but I think he was more reluctant to get to war. He's done very well so far and I think he has more gravitas and seriousness than Blair."

Others disagreed. Hamid Rahimi, owner of the Reza Patisserie on Kensington High Street, told ABC News: "Blair, Brown, it's all the same. Blair wanted to bring him into power.Things will be a little better with Brown because he will bring the troops home — I think he said by 2008 — and there will be more security."

Oborne, however, does not believe that Brown is politically invincible, but, he says, that the Tory Party needs to act quickly and smartly to keep him from dominating the political agenda. He told ABC News: "The Tories have to reshape their attack. What they do need to do is confront Brown's attempt to present himself as leader of a new and changed government." Oborne added that the Tories need to hammer home the point that Brown was, with Blair, a founder of "New Labour," and never strayed from it.

There is another potential political issue the Tories could use. Brown believes in lots of control by the state. The Conservatives, as conservatives do the world over, believe that government should control as little of our lives as possible. But, during times of crisis, acknowledged Oborne, the public craves a leader who exercises control.

Brown is suddenly, by virtue of the threat of more terror, in the position of exercising state control with public approval. For now.

Additional reporting by Maeva Bambuck