‘Blair thought Brown was bonkers’
19 Jun 2012 8:41 AM IST
Former British premier Tony Blair thought his successor Gordon Brown was ‘bonkers’ and a ‘malign force’ that was ‘hell-bent’ on his destruction, according to his ex-media chief's diaries aired on Monday.
The extracts from Alastair Campbell's diaries shone a light on the tension and bitterness behind the scenes during Blair's decade in office from 1997, when Brown served as his finance minister.
The sections from Campbell's latest volume of diaries, The Burden of Power: Countdown to Iraq, were published in The Guardian newspaper.
Blair and Brown had been the twin driving forces behind the Labour Party's modernisation and return to power after 18 years in opposition, but their relationship soon soured and turned into bitter rivalry.
Brown eventually took over from Blair as prime minister in 2007, but lost power in the 2010 general election.
In a diary entry from September 2002, Campbell said Blair felt a ‘dark cloud of GB [Brown] over him the whole time. He said GB was getting desperate and now was acting as a destructive force much of the time.’
Blair said: ‘He's brilliant and ambitious but he's also bonkers and I just can't be bothered with it,’ Campbell wrote.
The extracts from Alastair Campbell's diaries shone a light on the tension and bitterness behind the scenes during Blair's decade in office from 1997, when Brown served as his finance minister.
The sections from Campbell's latest volume of diaries, The Burden of Power: Countdown to Iraq, were published in The Guardian newspaper.
Blair and Brown had been the twin driving forces behind the Labour Party's modernisation and return to power after 18 years in opposition, but their relationship soon soured and turned into bitter rivalry.
Brown eventually took over from Blair as prime minister in 2007, but lost power in the 2010 general election.
In a diary entry from September 2002, Campbell said Blair felt a ‘dark cloud of GB [Brown] over him the whole time. He said GB was getting desperate and now was acting as a destructive force much of the time.’
Blair said: ‘He's brilliant and ambitious but he's also bonkers and I just can't be bothered with it,’ Campbell wrote.
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