With the British Prime Minister Tony Blair announcing that he would not contest the next elections, all eyes are on Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Gordon Brown.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently handed Gordon Brown a central role in shaking up the criminal justice system, effectively endorsing the Chancellor’s attempt to expand his influence over government policy. Even when he was appointed Chancellor the speed of his actions had earned Mr Brown the nickname “Flash Gordon“.
Mr Blair, trying to give fresh momentum to his embattled premiership, promised to “rebalance” the legal system to take more account of the demands of the “majority law-abiding community”, particularly on the application of human rights legislation.
The Prime Minister has made several similar promises in recent years, but his speech to Labour activists in London was significant for its acknowledgment of Mr Brown’s future role in home affairs.
Chancellor Brown has an an academic background. Brown, who most Labour MPs expect to take over in No 10 Downing Street by next autumn, has been giving a series of speeches ranging far beyond his Treasury brief, the most recent on security policy.
THESE are dark days in Downing Street, says the latest issue of The Economist. But in Tony Blair’s inner circle they can still enjoy a joke, even if the humour is increasingly of the gallows kind. The latest is that Gordon Brown, in his efforts to distance himself from the prime minister, is turning into Labour’s Al Gore.
While Robert Harris writes in The Guardian
: “Tony Blair ought to sack Gordon Brown. In fact, he ought to have done it years ago. I cannot think of any prime minister who has put up with such chronic disloyalty from a senior colleague over such a long period. But a combination of factors – fear of consigning this brooding, remorseless enemy to the backbenches; genuine regard for his abilities; and possibly even a kind of rueful, brotherly affection after so many years in politics together – has always stayed his hand. Now, in a denouement worthy of Shakespearean tragedy, it appears that Blair’s fatal weakness is about to be punished, and that his relentless opponent will soon drive him from the stage.”
Philip Webster writes in The Times that senior Labour figures, including allies of Gordon Brown, believe that Tony Blair should be given “months rather than weeks� before indicating how he intends to hand over the leadership.
The Times has been told that party heavyweights who last week urged Mr Blair and the Chancellor to agree plans for a peaceful transition want the Prime Minister to be “given spaceâ€? to prepare his plans. “They are hoping and expecting that at Labour’s conference in the autumn Mr Blair will deliver a signal that he will set in motion the procedure for a leadership contest to be held in the first half of next year.”
And, finally, BBC’s report “Union’s election warning to Brown”: “Derek Simpson, Amicus union leader, says Labour cannot win without its core vote Labour would have difficulty winning the next election with Gordon Brown at the helm unless its policies change.
“Simpson – seen as a Brown supporter – said the chancellor lacked Tony Blair’s charismatic ability to sell Mr Blair’s ‘crap’ policies. Amicus is the largest private sector union and gave £2m to Labour at last year’s general election.
“He said a complete change of direction was needed to save Labour from defeat. The union boss’s comments come after weeks of speculation about the timing of Tony Blair’s exit from Downing Street.
“All of the leaders of the big four unions – Unison, T&G, Amicus or GMB – have been largely quiet on the issue of replacing the Labour Party leader and Mr Simpson’s decision to speak out now will be seen as a bid to increase the pressure for what he sees as long-overdue policy changes.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.