The dark side of Britain’s prime minister was introduced to the British public by a political journalist on Sunday. The book, entitled ‘The End of the Party’ by Andrew Rawnsley, a journalist from The Observer, described Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a man filled with rage. But Brown and his cohorts rebutted the description saying that the prime minister does get riled up but he is never a bully.
Some passages from Rawnsley’s book have been published in the Observer and consequently dominated media headlines on Sunday. And more embarrassment was heaped onto the prime minister when an anti-bullying charity head said that a staff member at his No. 10 Downing Street office had contacted the group to complain about the atmosphere in the office.
Another passage speaks about Brown getting furious when one journalist pointed out similarities between his Labour 2007 conference speech, and speeches by Bill Clinton and Al Gore.
Brown, in an interview with the Independent, said he was upset, particularly with the rumour that he hit his staff members.
“It is simply a lie to say I’ve hit anybody in my life”, Brown said. “I may have done one or two good tackles at rugby but this so-called inside account is just ludicrous”.
The take on Brown came amidst the prime minister’s efforts to lighten his often distant image. In a recent ITV interview, Brown was seen in an emotional state while discussing his newborn daughter’s passing in 2002. The interview also showed Brown talking about his love life as an adolescent, his proposal to his wife, and clashes with Tony Blair.
Rawnsley commented that the interview was Brown’s way of making himself ‘more appealing to voters’, explaining that there was the ‘Good Brown’ and also a ‘Bad Brown’.
He said: “The public deserves to be fully acquainted with both”.
