Praise For Gordo
September 10th, 2007 by ThunderDragon
Yes, this isn’t the sort of post that I expected to write either. But for this stand, he deserves it. It’s just a pity about almost everything else he says and does.
Gordon Brown has thrown plans for a summit of African and European leaders into turmoil by vowing to pull out if Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe takes part. The Prime Minister, normally keen to promote Africa, believes that his boycott would be followed by several European allies and is hoping that the threat will stop Mr Mugabe from being invited.
But it has left Portugal, holders of the rotating EU presidency, in a quandary. Some African leaders have said that they will not attend if Mr Mugabe is banned…
[T]here are a host of key isues on the table, from climate change to migration and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. (The Times)
But it has left Portugal, holders of the rotating EU presidency, in a quandary. Some African leaders have said that they will not attend if Mr Mugabe is banned…
[T]here are a host of key isues on the table, from climate change to migration and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. (The Times)
Brown is right to do this. Mugabe should be banned from any and all international summits, and at last Brown is making the right move. Even if it is mainly to ensure that he doesn’t end up with a “Straw moment” and have to shake hands with Mugabe.
But the right move is the right move - even if it is dictated by spin.
Source: The Times
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Agreed the right thing to do, even if he has his eye(excuse the tired joke) on newspaper headlines about standing up to dictators.
A lot of people forget that many African leaders do not share the UK’s view on Mugabe - many of them think he has been hard done by and agree with a lot of his policies, especially South Africa.
If Brown tries to make a stand, he could run into serious difficulties.