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01/09/2010
Blair: Brown Was 'Maddening'
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that his successor Gordon Brown could be "maddening".
Mr Blair makes the comment in his memoirs, entitled A Journey, which are published today.
In extracts of the book published in The Guardian, Mr Blair described Mr Brown as having no political feelings or emotional intelligence: "Political calculation, yes. Political feelings, no. Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero."
However, Mr Blair did acknowledge Mr Brown's strengths, describing him as "strong, capable and brilliant".
He concluded, however, that Mr Brown's premiership "was going to be a disaster" unless he had followed along New Labour lines.
In the book, which took three years to write, Mr Blair also spoke about the Iraq war, saying that although he felt "desperately sorry" for the relatives of those who lost their lives in the conflict, he still believed that leaving Saddam Hussein in power was a "bigger risk" than removing him.
A spokesperson for Mr Brown said that he would not be commenting on Mr Blair's book.
(KMcA/GK)
Mr Blair makes the comment in his memoirs, entitled A Journey, which are published today.
In extracts of the book published in The Guardian, Mr Blair described Mr Brown as having no political feelings or emotional intelligence: "Political calculation, yes. Political feelings, no. Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero."
However, Mr Blair did acknowledge Mr Brown's strengths, describing him as "strong, capable and brilliant".
He concluded, however, that Mr Brown's premiership "was going to be a disaster" unless he had followed along New Labour lines.
In the book, which took three years to write, Mr Blair also spoke about the Iraq war, saying that although he felt "desperately sorry" for the relatives of those who lost their lives in the conflict, he still believed that leaving Saddam Hussein in power was a "bigger risk" than removing him.
A spokesperson for Mr Brown said that he would not be commenting on Mr Blair's book.
(KMcA/GK)
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