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Posts Tagged ‘Gordon Brown’

Zardari doesn’t have leadership acumen

December 6th, 2010 | No Comments

WASHINGTON (Agencies) Â– President Asif Ali Zardari doesnÂ’t have leadership qualities while Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani seems to be playing a strong role to counter national crises, revealed the WikiLeaks quoting US Ambassador Anne W Peterson.
In a document written by Islamabad-based US Embassy in June 2009, the envoy said that even in the presence of President Zardari, PM Gilani had filled the gap of leadership whenever it was required to establish a political alliance to counter any national crisis. An example is quoted in this regard that it was PM Gilani who managed to win support of all parties against war or terror and approval for military action against extremists.
Â“PM Gilani, in his address to nation on May 7, won peopleÂ’s backing for military operation in Swat and adjacent areas which earned a legal certificate for the military to take steps against Taliban.Â”
The document also stated that President Zardari realised that he was not a popular leader and he himself confessed of not having any experience of such a high post in the past.
It also said that President Zardari personally wanted to establish good ties with India but he could not go ahead without ArmyÂ’s consent.
Meanwhile, WikiLeaks has disclosed another key point regarding Pakistan-US ties, which is about putting a condition on Pakistan for securing a nuclear cooperation with superpower likewise India.
During a meeting with President Zardari in 2009, US Senator John Kerry placed a condition on Pakistan that the latter would have to ink a Â‘New Security ArrangementÂ’ accord with neighbour India, if it wanted a civil nuclear cooperation with US, according to leaked memos of US diplomatic cables, cited in a letter of the then US Ambassador Patterson.
Citing the letter, WikiLeaks claimed that Senator Kerry wanted Pakistan to make agreement with New Delhi on New Security Arrangement, if latter was looking for winning a cooperation with US on civil nuclear deal.
Kerry also urged Pakistan to strengthen democratic institutions first for the purpose, leaked diplomatic cables disclosed. The Senator said AQ Khan network was key hurdle in way of progress of Pakistan.
While, during the same sitting, President Zardari told him that India itself plotted Mumbai attacks in November 2008.
Zardari also told US Ambassador Patterson that Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) hardly enjoyed support of only 20 per cent population in Karachi. Although, MQM had adopted an aggressive posture but we wanted to take them along, said Zardari to Patterson, as reported by WikiLeaks.
According to leaked diplomatic memos, the party always emerged victorious only on the basis of delimitation of constituencies, Zardari further told her.
According to a latest disclosure by the WikiLeaks, President Asif Ali Zardari had told US Vice-President Joe Biden in 2009 that General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the ISI would take him out.
Zardari was referring to an alleged plot to remove him form the office. The cable also added that Zardari had made extensive preparations in case he was killed.
When Joe Biden disclosed the conversation to former British prime minister Gordon Brown, he replied that Kayani did not want to be another Musharraf and he (Kayani) was cautious about President Zardari and the Sharif brothers.
Brown further said President ZardariÂ’s was unclear about the war on terror, though he (Zardari) always used to say, Â“Every thing is Okay.Â”
The former UK premier said the roots of terrorism in Pakistan were very much complicated and the religious seminaries solely could not be blamed for the issue. Â“There are certain areas where terrorism is given air.Â”
Biden said it was quite difficult to convince Pakistan about enhancing capacity against terrorism, adding that Islamabad was focusing its defence with a perspective of a threat from India.

COAS respects political leaders

December 5th, 2010 | No Comments

ISLAMABAD (Agencies) Â– Pakistan Army stressed its loyalty to civilian politics after diplomatic correspondence leaked by whistleblowers WikiLeaks said the military had considered deposing the countryÂ’s president.
Cables from the US embassy in Islamabad obtained by WikiLeaks and reported in The New York Times and The Guardian newspapers this week also said President Asif Ali Zardari had made preparations for a coup.
One cable cited by both newspapers quoted US Vice-President Joe Biden recounting to BritainÂ’s then prime minister Gordon Brown a conversation with Zardari last year, in which Zardari told Biden he feared assassination.
Zardari, the cable said, had told the US vice-president that PakistanÂ’s army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency Â“will take me out.Â”
In the militaryÂ’s first response to the allegations, spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Saturday Â“the army has a demonstrated policy of supporting the political process within the confines of constitution of Pakistan.Â”
Abbas also said that Kayani Â“holds all national leaders in esteem,Â” including the main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif.
According to a cable quoted by The New York Times, Kayani told the US ambassador during a March 2009 meeting that he Â“might, however reluctantly,Â” pressure Zardari to resign.
Kayani was quoted as saying that he might support Asfandyar Wali Khan, leader of the opposition Awami National League Party, as the new president – but not Nawaz Sharif.
Kayani aired the idea during a round of meetings with Patterson in March 2009 as opposition leader Nawaz Sharif rallied thousands of supporters in a street movement that threatened to topple the government.
The general said that while he disliked Zardari, he distrusted Sharif even more, and appeared to be angling for a solution that would prevent the opposition leader from coming to power.
The cable illustrates the strong behind-the-scenes hand of PakistanÂ’s military in civilian politics only six months after military ruler General Pervez Musharraf resigned.
The crisis was sparked by ZardariÂ’s attempt to bar Sharif from running for parliament and his refusal to reinstate the deposed chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry. As a powerful protest movement of opposition supporters and lawyers grew in Lahore, western diplomats scrambled to defuse the situation with KayaniÂ’s help.
Kayani is a low-profile military man said to be well regarded by his US counterparts.

Rivals

September 1st, 2010 | No Comments

The best-selling political memoirs in Britain

TONY BLAIR, Britain’s former prime minister, published his memoirs on Wednesday September 1st. The few people who have already read them cover to cover report that, in addition to the familiar stuff about how awful his relationship with Gordon Brown was, Mr Blair admits to being manipulative and to having a developed sense of his own destiny. The book is likely to sell well, though it seems that British book buyers are rather more interested in American politicians than in their own. Three of the four bestselling political memoirs in Britain (since barcodes made such things easier to count) are by Americans. The Brit who separates the Clintons near the top, comedian John O’Farrell, was never really a politician: he stood for election once (in Maidenhead) and then made some rather archaic puns about the experience.

More Daily charts …

UK public spending cuts and the auto industry?

May 18th, 2010 | No Comments

There’s a bit of a public spending squeeze on in Britain and, as I understand it, there are few sacred cows that will be protected. The new regime in power is already blaming the last one for the public finances ‘mess’ that they have to pick up. Such is the way of politics.

The rather dour Gordon Brown actually cracked a good joke once about what he found when he became Chancellor of the Exchequer. There were three envelopes from the previous Chancellor ‘to be opened in times of economic crisis’ and in order, 1 to 3. The first one said, naturally, blame your predecessor. And we did a bit of that, admitted Brown. When things deteriorated further the second one was to be opened. It read ‘blame the statistics’ – and we did some of that as well, he said. And the third? It said simply, prepare the same three envelopes for your successor…

Anyway, the new British government is preparing an emergency budget. Substantial cuts in public spending are coming with everything up for review. How will the auto industry in Britain be impacted? That may become a little clearer over the next week or so, but my guess is that public support for the UK auto industry will be in the firing line as a ‘soft target’ early on. It’s something that the UK industry should be lobbying on – right now.

The industry here is doing relatively well, but the business environment outlook is still mixed, with the economic importance of vehicle manufacturing and the jobs in supplier companies not to be underestimated.

Moreover, the strategy to develop the UK as a high-tech hub for electric drive vehicles for the long-term – with the positive economic benefits that flow from that – could be damaged if the spending axe is wielded in too crude a manner.

Â£750m government funding for UK car and nuclear industries under threat

David Cameron moves into new home â€“ 10 Downing Street

May 12th, 2010 | No Comments

London, May 12 (IANS) Promising a “proper and full coalition government”, Conservative leader David Cameron moved into No. 10 Downing Street as Britain’s new prime minister, shortly after Labour’s Gordon Brown bid an emotional farewell, signalling an end to 13 years of his party rule.
Cameron, one of Britain’s youngest prime ministers, got the top job [...]

Struggling for power

May 9th, 2010 | No Comments

As Conservatives and Lib Dems keep talking, Britain still has no new government

DAVID CAMERON, Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg, the leaders of Britain’s three main political parties, appeared in public together, at a ceremony to commemorate Victory in Europe day, on Saturday May 8th. But behind the public decorum, a fierce and urgent struggle for the right to form the next government is continuing.

Later on the 8th Mr Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, and Mr Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, met privately in central London. On Sunday morning teams of negotiators appointed by the two men convened in talks facilitated by the civil service. The purpose is to see whether the two parties can reach an agreement that would enable a new government to be formed—following the general election on May 6th that, for the first time in Britain since 1974, returned a hung parliament, in which no party has overall control of the House of Commons. …

David Cameron tipped to enter 10, Downing Street

May 7th, 2010 | No Comments

Conservative leader David Cameron, whose party has secured the largest number of seats and highest percentage of votes, is expected to form the next govt in Britain that is set for an India-style coalition politics after no party won an overall majority.
With results of 600 of the 649 seats declared, the Conservative party won [...]

Within his reach

May 7th, 2010 | No Comments

An extraordinary election is set to make David Cameron Britain’s next prime minister

IT WAS a short speech, but it just may have been the speech of his life. David Cameron appealed early in the afternoon of Friday May 7th to Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, and beyond him to the markets, to give the Conservatives a chance to form a strong, stable government. With a handful of constituency ballots still being counted, the Tories had 302 seats in Parliament at the time of his statement. They were thus set to become the largest party in the House of Commons but not to command the chamber, for which 326 seats, or something not far short, are required. Mr Cameron made a “big,comprehensive and open” offer to Mr Clegg and his party to join him in establishing a strong, stable government, outlining honestly the areas in which the two parties disagree (defence, Europe and immigration) as well as agree (educational reform, fiscal probity). Urgent negotiations continue.

After one of the strangest nights in recent British history, no clear winner has emerged from the general election held on May 6th. Gordon Brown and his Labour Party appear to be clear losers, with some 100 seats fewer than they held before Britons went to the polls. With financial markets unsettled, both at home and abroad, the question now-as was once asked in another context-is who runs Britain. Mr Clegg, for his part, has said that he thinks it right to allow the party which has garnered most support from the electorate to form a government …

Cameron comes out top after final TV debate

April 30th, 2010 | No Comments

Opinion polls in the British election race have made David Cameron the winner of the third and last TV debate. The opposition Conservative leaderâ€™s standing rose by several percentage points at the expense of Gordon Brown, under pressure after the previous dayâ€™s campaign disaster when he described a pensioner as â€œbigotedâ€.

Voters, meet Gordon

April 28th, 2010 | No Comments

Britain’s prime minister produces a great political blunder

“THAT was a disaster,” said Gordon Brown after an encounter with a voter that had not gone according to the script on Wednesday April 28th. In fact the incident was nothing compared with his accidentally keeping a broadcast microphone attached to his lapel which picked up that remark, and the rest of a conversation with his aides, as they retreated to Mr Brown’s Jaguar. “They should never have put me with that woman,” he added out of the corner of his mouth, smiling and waving to the crowd all the while. “Whose idea was that?” The kicker came after Mr Brown and his team drove away: “she was just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour.” …

The week ahead

April 18th, 2010 | No Comments

Britain’s party leaders discuss foreign policy in a televised debate

BRITAIN’S voters have a second chance to assess the leaders of the three main parties on Thursday April 22nd. Gordon Brown, his closest challenger, David Cameron, the leader of the Conservatives, and Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, clash in a second televised debate, this time focussed on foreign policy. Even if he impresses, Mr Brown’s slender chance of remaining prime minister could suffer a blow the next day when figures for GDP in the first quarter are released. If the economy has grown a little, as forecasters reckon, the leader of the Labour Party may still be able to claim the credit for his careful stewardship an economy creeping out of a deep recession. Numbers showing the economy contracting again would be catastrophic for Mr Brown and the Labour Party.

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Simon Cowell â€˜too busyâ€™ to help Gordon Brown

April 13th, 2010 | No Comments

Simon Cowell apparently snubbed Gordon Brown after the British leader asked for the music mogulâ€™s help to get more young people to vote.
Brown told the latest issue of Radio Times how he wanted Cowell to help him form new policies aimed at getting more young people to vote, reports the Daily Star.
He said: â€œEveryone has [...]

Brown fires starting shot for May 6 poll

April 6th, 2010 | No Comments

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Tuesday that a general election will be held in Britain May 6 in what analysts believe could be one of the closest and most unpredictable contests in modern British politics.
Brown, 59, will be seeking an unprecedented fourth term for the ruling Labour Party which has been in power since 1997. [...]

Brown could continue as British PM for weeks even if he loses elections

March 31st, 2010 | No Comments

Under new Whitehall proposals, Gordon Brown may continue as the British Prime Minister for weeks even if he loses the general elections.
In order to prevent any immediate second election in the event of a hung parliament, British Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus Oâ€™Donnell and his associates are formulating a plan which could be agreeable to both [...]

Does he have what it takes?

March 31st, 2010 | No Comments

The Conservative leader, David Cameron, is still the favourite to be Britain’s next prime minister

HE HAS led the Conservative Party for more than four years and is the man most likely to lead Britain after the general election this spring. Yet people still wonder just who David Cameron is. This is not because he hides what he does or fudges what he thinks, as those on the receiving end of countless webcameron flashes and unending policy e-mails can attest. It is, rather, that his views are not always those of either his party or, perhaps, of his age.

The Economist talked to Mr Cameron on March 29th, in the last of a series of on-the-record interviews with the leaders of the three main political parties. Though only 15 years younger than Gordon Brown, prime minister and leader of the Labour Party, he seems of a different generation, with an easy, human touch that Mr Brown often struggles to achieve. He has more obviously in common with the similarly 40-ish, six-foot-tall leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg. But Mr Cameron is an altogether slicker number, and a far more experienced political operator. …

It’s the economy…

March 30th, 2010 | No Comments

British voters are unsure whom to trust

GEORGE OSBORNE, the Conservative shadow chancellor, should be cheerful ahead of a general election that is due within weeks. The British economy has barely emerged from a painful recession, unemployment is high and public finances are in a terrible state. Neither Gordon Brown, the prime minister, nor Alistair Darling, the chancellor (finance minister, pictured) are popular figures and the economy is the main concern for voters. Yet opinion polls suggest that, after a long period of Conservative advantage, voters are now unsure whom to trust to bring about recovery. Mr Osborne’s party had long focused on the urgent need to reduce the public deficit, but this week pledged to reverse a planned increase in National Insurance contributions (a tax designed to fund certain public services) for many voters. Some voters will welcome the prospect of avoiding a higher tax, but others may see a muddled message from Mr Osborne.

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Brown visits soldiers in Afghanistan amid defense row

March 6th, 2010 | No Comments

The prime minister has visited British troops in Afghanistan as a row grows over his evidence to the Iraq inquiry. Gordon Brown’s aides told the BBC he rejected criticism from two former Army chiefs that as chancellor he denied pleas to send more equipment to Iraq.

Brown’s way forward

February 22nd, 2010 | No Comments

Britain’s prime minister, Gordon Brown, has the fight of his life on his hands

GORDON BROWN is anything but idle these days. On February 22nd, extolling the merits of Britain to representatives of 250 big companies at a Global Investment Conference in London, he was the perfect economic statesman. Two days earlier, speaking to the party faithful in Coventry, he was a gloves-off political streetfighter as, in effect, he launched the Labour Party’s general-election campaign with the slogan “A future fair for all”. Whichever version is the real Mr Brown these days, the next couple of months (an election is due by June 3rd and expected on May 6th) will be testing ones.

In an interview with The Economist on February 22nd, Mr Brown touched on four main themes. The recent recession, he said, was “the first crisis of globalisation”, and required global solutions. The financial crisis of 2008-09 was “a huge turning point…The world has had to recognise its interdependence…” The question is whether the G20 will have sufficient momentum to deal with the outstanding problems, especially the regulation of global finance. On climate change, financial stability, nuclear weapons, terrorism, we need to be capable of “pushing for and delivering global solutions”. As to Europe’s role in this, the prime minister is concerned about its sluggish economic growth and ageing population. “Europe’s got to get a growth strategy,” he says. …

Brown in Kandahar for talks with Karzai

December 13th, 2009 | No Comments

U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is on a surprise visit to Afghanistan where he is holding talks with President Hamid Karzai in Kandahar. Brown â€“ who has also been meeting British troops and inspecting equipment â€“ wants the Afghan government to play a bigger part in controlling the countryâ€™s security apparatus.

Simon Cowell tops Worst Celebrity Hair of 2009 poll

December 11th, 2009 | No Comments

Simon Cowell‘’s haircut has topped a poll for the ”Worst Celebrity Hair” of 2009.
In the annual Brylcreem survey, the TV judge’’s short back and sides was voted worse than Russell Brand’’s shaggy mane and Gordon Brown’’s side-parting.
Meanwhile, Peter Andre picked up the gong for top celebrity haircut, reports the Mirror.
Also included in the list were [...]