Is Gordon Brown Machiavelli reincarnate? Hardly.

From Wikipedia :
"Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 June 21, 1527) was an Italian diplomat, political philosopher, musician, poet, and playwright. He is a figure of the Italian Renaissance and a central figure of its political component, most widely known for his treatises on realist political theory."

Gordon Brown is none of those things, nor is he ever likely to be. Only Brown's most loyal retainers would suggest his name will become a byword for anything in 500 years. Or even remembered in 100, for that matter.

Today the term "Machiavellian" is an insult to most. It implies someone who manipulates and schemes, someone who is very intelligent, highly skilled and utterly ruthless.

Is this a fair description of Gordon Brown? There is no doubt the he schemes and manipulates. Then again, so do all politicians. It is part of the job description. In fact, it is part of the job description for "human being."

True, Brown has left the UK in little doubt of his intelligence. Throughout his campaign to replace Tony Blair, his retainers continually reminded us of his superior intelligence. This is probably where the Machiavellian accusations come from. It is par for the course for any politician who claims intelligence to be characterized as Machiavellian.

Where Brown fails to live up to the Machiavellian label is on the "highly skilled and completely ruthless" front.

Tony Blair easily outmaneuvered Brown for the leadership of the Labor party 10 years ago. Blair and Brown reputedly made a deal, where Blair would step aside after a period in office, in return for Brown's support. However, Blair welshed on the deal, leaving Brown kick his heals as Chancellor of the Exchequer for a decade. You would guess that Niccolo would have had Blair's guts for garters for that literally. Brown did have a half-hearted attempt at a palace coup, but backed out at the last minute.

Since taking over as Prime Minister, Brown has been equally unimpressive, in particular the 'Election that Never Was' a reminder of the 'Coup that Never Was'.

One suspects that Brown imagines himself Machiavellian, but in reality he not skilled and ruthless enough, or maybe just not decisive enough. He has consistently failed to stick the knife in and twist when the opportunity arises. The nickname the opposition have given him is 'Bottler Brown' Would anyone have dared describe Niccolo thus?

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