"...Well you came and you gave without taking, but I sent you away, oh Mandy"
''That's it!' he says to himself - Mandy!
...and the rest is history.
Well, that may not be exactly what happened, but wouldn't it be brilliant if it was.
What I find very difficult to grasp about Gordon Brown is his seeming lack of warmth...of realism. That's why I'd love to think that behind closed doors he has his moments where he is just a human being like the rest of us. However it came about I can't help but think bringing Mandy back is a good decision. Politics needs characters, personalities, leaders, people who, even if we disagree with them, demand our notice whatever they do.
Charisma...in my view it's the basis on which all the truly influential political (and military) leaders in history have built their power. Unfortunately for Gordon Brown he just doesn't have it.
This of course begs the question - can charisma be taught? With the right coaching from spin doctors and PR queens, can anybody learn how to capture the public imagination? In a word - no.
I personally think that media training is always too obviously fake in those who need it. If you already have natural charisma media training can polish up your hard edges and help you come across better on camera, but it won't give you that sparkle, that smile, that turn of phrase that can hold a room spellbound.
I'm sure we can all identify any number of historic leaders who had charisma - but who in our current crop of politicians and powerful people can we say has that magic ingredient? There are very few UK politicians who have any (or perhaps who are allowed by their PR teams to have any) personality these days. Boris Johnson is a notable exception and all the more refreshing for it.
Peter Mandelson is not necessarily a naturally likeable man, but he has a force of personality that cannot be ignored. I look forward to seeing if he can inject a bit of life into a Labour government that is, frankly, as dull as Westlife's greatest hits...
:~
