Debate is desperate for Brown
In 1997, John Major did something no previous PM had – he offered the opposition leader a televised debate. Blair clucked around for a bit and then backed away.
Received wisdom at the time was that a debate favours the opposition – it raises their status to that of the PM. But at the time Major was so desperate – and the Tories so sure of Blair’s core flakiness – that they took the risk.
Against expectations, Blair refused. Why? Because he was so far ahead at the time that he could only lose ground if he slipped up in the debate or came across – heaven forbid – as insubstantial.
Now Brown’s offer to the Tories is similarly desperate. The PM’s advisers reckon Cameron is so far ahead that he can only lose ground – and not just because the Lib Dems are also getting in on the act, which could raise their profile to the detriment of the Conservatives. They hope the Tory leader makes a gaffle or Brown appears more authoratative and prime-ministerial.
I’m not sure the Tories have much to worry about. The offer is desperate. The background for the government is the worst in memory. And Cameron, for all his faults, is a smart and professional enough politician to get through it. The X Factor, however, it won’t be.
