London, May 03: For the first time, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday hinted that he would not try to cling on to power by doing deals with other parties if Labour suffered a decisive defeat in Thursday’s general elections which are widely predicted to result in a “hung” Parliament.
He also indicated that he would step down as leader of the Labour party.
“Of course, I respect the view of the electorate, I am a democrat,” he told The Observer when asked about his post-election options if Labour ended up in third place after Tories and the Liberal Democrats.
Majority
Mr. Brown’s remarks came amid suggestions from Lib Dems that if no party won a majority they might consider propping up a Labour government if it changed its leader.
The sense that Labour is not averse to exploring such an option, while angrily rejecting it in public, was reinforced by media reports quoting party sources as saying Mr. Brown would quit if the election results were too dire.
Personal attack
Stung by Lib Dems’ withering criticism of his leadership, Mr. Brown launched a bitter personal attack on their leader Nick Clegg likening him to a “TV gameshow” presenter who — he said — had gained popularity because of his smooth performance during the leaders’ television debates.
Dismissing his policies as the “sort of stuff you do when you’re at a dinner party”, he said:
“We’re talking about the future of our country. We’re not talking about who’s going to be the next presenter of a TV gameshow.”
—-Agencies