Gossiping politicians
- 26 Feb 07, 09:26 AM
"The safe door swung open," when he fooled Margaret Beckett into thinking that he was Gordon Brown. Really?! I couldn't spot a single newsworthy story in his trick conversation with the foreign secretary.
Imagine if this conversation had been illegally taped as the Royal Family's were. Would any part of it have made the front page of any self respecting paper. "Don't risk Byers" isn't the grabbiest headline for a story in which Beckett advises Gordon Brown that it would be risky to bring his arch enemy Stephen Byers back into the Cabinet. "Hewitt out of depth" would be the best you could do for Mrs Beckett's failure to disagree with the future prime minister that some people thought that Pat Hewitt was out of her depth at the DTI.
Hardly material for a Pulitzer.
No, there were no great revelations in this call. Unless, of course, you find it surprising that politicians gossip about one another's strengths and weaknesses, are not always entirely loyal to all their colleagues and say what their bosses and future bosses might want to hear. That would never happen where you work, would it?!!
