UK ‘PM-in-waiting’ branded ruthless ‘Stalinist’

Middle East Times | Mar 20, 2007

‘STALINIST’: UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer and likely next prime minister Gordon Brown (R), was labeled ‘Stalinist’ by a former top civil servant March 20.

The UK’s finance minister and likely next prime minister, Gordon Brown, was labeled “Stalinist” by a former top civil servant Tuesday, a day before he delivers a key budget speech.

Lord Andrew Turnbull said that Brown had showed a “Stalinist ruthlessness” and had a “very cynical view of mankind and his colleagues” in an unprecedented attack by such a senior figure.

Turnbull, who as Cabinet Secretary was the UK’s most senior civil servant between 2002 and 2005 after a stint as the chief mandarin in Brown’s Treasury, added that the chancellor’s style impeded good government.

“He cannot allow them any serious discussion about priorities. His view is that it is just not worth it and they will ‘get what I decide,’” Turnbull said in an interview with the Financial Times.

“It has enhanced Treasury control but at the expense of any government cohesion and any assessment of strategy.

“You can choose whether you are impressed or depressed by that, but you cannot help admire the sheer Stalinist ruthlessness of it all.”

The damaging attack, which echoes previous criticisms of Brown as a “control freak” and “psychologically flawed,” came as the finance minister prepares to woo voters with what is his likely to be his last budget Wednesday.

Commentators predict that Brown will unveil a series of environmentally-friendly measures in what will be seen as a trailer for his intentions if he moves into 10 Downing Street.

But despite the seeming inevitability of his accession, many within Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labor Party, plus a large chunk of UK voters, have misgivings about Brown.

Blair and Brown were close friends in the 1980s and early 1990s, but they fell out after Blair failed to follow through on a reported 1994 deal to hand over to Brown as prime minister after a few years in office.

Blair celebrates his 10th anniversary in Downing Street May 1, despite an attempted coup by Brown supporters last year after which he pledged to step down by September.

The premier smiled but made no comment when asked by reporters about the remarks, while his spokesman voiced Blair’s “admiration for the chancellor’s record” and said that civil servants “should not become the story.”

Constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman, a deputy leadership candidate when Blair steps down, defended Brown Tuesday.

“He is demanding of colleagues but he is also demanding of himself because he is in politics to change things for the better,” she told BBC radio. “All I can conclude is not all civil servants admire strong political leadership.”

UK voters seem uninspired by Brown – an ICM poll published in The Guardian Tuesday said the main opposition Conservatives under David Cameron would have a 15-point lead over Labor led by Brown.

Turnbull later issued a statement saying that the comments published by the paper did not give a “balanced” account of his views.

“My remarks to the Financial Times about the way government business is transacted were not made with the intention or expectation that they would be quoted verbatim nor, I acknowledge, were they expressed in language appropriate for that purpose,” he said.

But another former top civil servant echoed his comments on the record.

Sir Stephen Wall, a former advisor to Blair on Europe, said that Brown had not operated with “the trust and transparence that is necessary for good Cabinet government” while at the Treasury.

“I cannot recall a time … when there has been such a lack of open communication between the Treasury and the rest of Whitehall, and that is not good for government,” he added.