Has Gordon got it?

I know many blog users will feel that they have left British politics behind with the end of the AS exams, but I would hope that studying the subject has left them with a long term interest in the politics of the country and they have not viewed the course in purely utilitarian terms, i.e. as the path of least resistance towards a decent examination grade. As one of my students said when I informed a class that the A2 course we are studying is purely American, “So we’ve stopped doing British politics just when it was getting interesting!”. Well, the story I’ve come across today is too good to put to one side since it gives the lie to the idea that the office of the Prime Minister has become one where the occupant is somehow all powerful.

The Times reports on how Cabinet has been severely divided over the best course of action to take as a General Election looms large over the horizon - remember, it will take place within the next twelve months whatever happens. It shows that Cabinet still matters, and that although threats of a leadership challenge appear to have subsided, Gordon Brown still faces intense pressure from his own Cabinet.

The man at Number 10 has not helped his own cause by stating in an interview with the Guardian that he could walk away tomorrow - a bad choice of words, that have been misinterpreted by the public and media.

Brown, battered by the storm caused by the economic crisis, appeared to have pulled things together following the G20 summit only for the MPs’ expenses scandal to blow him further off course. No one expects him to walk away, but further doubts about his capacity to handle the country’s top political post will mean that the pressure will only intensify over the remaining months of his premiership. So, has Gordon got talent?