At his Downing Street news conference on 1 April, Mr Brown said: "I think President Sarkozy said himself that he expected Britain, because we are going to host the next Olympics, to be present at the Olympic ceremonies and I will certainly be there." (source BBC News)April 9
Downing Street "confirms" Gordon Brown will not be attending the Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Another day, another climbdown.
22 comments:
But he will be at the 'closing ceremonies', so, er, no climbdown at all really...
So, if it's not a climbdown, what is it? A lie, a breach of promise, an instance of indecision? What's changed in eight days that has prompted a change in Brown's schedule, other than the protests against Chinese repression in Tibet?
Not only is it a u turn, it's a dithering u-turn.
I won't go,erm, I mean I will, erm I mean I will if Nicolas goes..who else is going?
Is Daryl Llama going to be there?
No..enough prevaricating. Iwill definately go. But what about all the protesters. I've already seemed weak.
I know..I'll just go to the end.I will turn up when everyone else has gone.
That's it..i'll do my Major Major stunt.I will only meet the Chinese Premier when i'm not there. When I am there I won't meet him. Brilliant, it'll be like the Lisbon thing again.That was a success wasn't it?
Personally I don't care if he goes. As long as he doesn't come back.
anon 9.39 - Of course it's a climb-down...The bbc news at 10 had the Brown quote from the 1st of april...BUT they left off the end of it: 'and I will certainly be there' Therefore they made it look like Brown had not made a u-turn, and had originally left himself some 'wriggle room'...Yet again, the bbc spins in favour of our hapless PM...
Exactly anonymous 9:39 PM. Somoneone else e.g. Harriet and David will go to Opening and Gordon will go to closing. Britain is represented at the ceremonies. And Gordon will certainly be there.
I'm feeling disappointed at a particular lack of clear thinking and precise analysis on this blog these last few weeks Iain.
He's doing to save taxpayers' money apparently. Since when did that worry him?
Exactly, bill quango, it'll be just as it was when traitor Brown signed the Lisbon Treaty.
Once again Brown demonstrates that he doesn't give hoot in hell what we think, but he runs like a rabbit when his EU masters call.
What a chiselling coward our Prime Minister is. Once again Brown's snivelling cowardice makes our country a laughing stock.
Incapable of making decisions, incapable of running our country. He has got to go - and soon.
But he IS sending the very lovely Tessa Jowell to the opening ceremony. The lucky Chinese!!!
I wonder if she will be sporting the equally lovely green raincoat she wore to meet the torch in Downing Street?
He is so full of **it, even his eyes are Brown.
Will Boris be at the closing ceremony to accept the olympic flame?
Apparently Jowell is going to the opening and Brown to the closing ceremony. No chance of any British medals in the relays then...
How dare Brown promise to go to the Olympics and then we discover... he has plans to go to the Olympics!
Honestly, monstering campaigns work better when you don't get silly about it.
icowboy said: I wonder if she [Jowell] will be sporting the equally lovely green raincoat she wore to meet the torch.
No way will Jowell wear that green parka to Beijing. She'll wear one in fu xing (means great, Iain) coward's yellow, just like the rest of the UK delegation.
Richard Gere and Archbishop Tutu are holding a candlelight vigil in San Francisco for the Tibettans. Good on them - and on all the protestors who tried to stop the abomination of the Chinese torch parade.
Tutu lauded the protestors for outpourings of support for human rights and called on US President George W. Bush and the leaders of other nations not to go to Beijing for the Games.
"For God's sake, for the sake of our children, for the sake of their children, for the sake of the beautiful people of Tibet -- don't go," Tutu said in his message to heads of states.
Will our 'son of the manse' have the decency to listen? No way. The EU orders and Brown obeys.
Tutu's point about saving the children of Tibet ought to have a special resonance for Brown.
After all, isn't this the man who supports Sarah Brown's charity for, so called, 'poor and infirm children', whatever that rather outdated and paternalistic description is supposed to mean.
The charity has pledged £600,000 over three years to the Scots hospital (in Brown's constituency?) where the Jennifer Brown research fund has been established and are funding numerous practical projects to help Scots children.
Is the PM who gives so much support to Scots children via Piggy Bank Kids, the charity his wife directs, turning his back on the children of Tibet?
Chinese State Television:
Captain Running Dog Brown make steaming pie in decision to backward attend Olympics.
So, the message is: The lady's not for turning. Er...um...
Must say the Tibetans are lucky. Firstly they are not black; secondly they have a "spiritualist" leader who fits in very well with concerned liberals, notice how many of the protesters in London looked less Tibetan and more Oxbridge don?
Do I think what they Chinese are doing in Tibet is wrong? YES.
Do I think what the world media and liberal classes are doing in ignoring all the other people suffering across the world is wrong? YES
Still must go, need to meditate and feel concerned for people.
Anon 9.11 AM.
If your point is to highlight the lack of protest re other parts of the world where the people are suffering, it's a good one. However, if that is your point, shame you ruined it with (nulab style?) sneering at liberals.
The claim that liberals are ignoring world wide suffering is utter nonsense. In my view, most liberals do actively engage in practical response to war, sickness and starvation around the world.
Since nulab came to power, however, the liberal response is intolerably stretched between the need to respond to the countless policy calamities our government has foisted on UK: Iraq, Afghanistan, environmental damage, Lisbon Treaty, severely eroded civil liberties, failing NHS/education/roads/infrastructure, over-development, flooding, airport expansion, green space erosion, sewage systems, pollution, mounting debt, the scandal of squandered public money, government corruption and so on.
You might be sufficiently super human to take on protests about all of these issues simultaneously, Anon -though you don't state what action you have taken about any of these, do you?
The rest of us, however, just protest against as many issues as we can cope with.
Perhaps hes going to do a "Lisbon Treaty" and go the day after the opening.
Come on, Iain, you can do better than this.
He said he was going to be in China and he will be in China. He has to be there at the end to see the Mayor collect the flag for 2012 (and let's hope it's Ken as Boris would probably lose it on the way out of the stadium), and I suspect certain Tory bloggers would be stamping their little feet with rage if he flew all the way to Beijing and back twice in the space of a fortnight.
By all means criticise Brown for not standing up and saying "I'm not going to the opening ceremony because of China's human rights record", but attacking him over a U-turn that never was smacks of desperation.
Brown can do as he wishes because he has never been elected to the position of Prime Minister. As Chancellor he was never to be seen when the s*** hit the fan and a leopard never changes his spots
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