Is the PM a Mentalist?

This story has gone into overdrive this week, with Guido openly talking about Brown having mental problems, closely followed by speculation that Guido himself is a mentalist and that the current mental health problems of a former PM might have interesting roots. There is more (and sweary) analysis here and here.

Whatever you might think of Thatcher, or Guido, or about the mental health of any private citizen, you can always fall back on the knowledge that it doesn't really matter. Thatcher may have dementia, Guido may be a drunk - I neither know nor do I care. Brown, however, is a different kettle of fish. Like it or not (and I fall definitely into the latter camp) Brown is PM - he is in charge of this country, and the head of a very demanding and invasive bureaucracy that controls everyone in this country. He is making laws that affect every one of us. And if he is suffering from major mental health issues - if he is having a nervous breakdown - then it could have major problems for the nation as a whole. I don't care whether you think Brown deserves mental health problems or not - if he is a mentalist, then we should all be very, very concerned.

But there is the problem - if. No-one really knows whether he is having a breakdown or not. Even those closest to him might not know whether he is having mental health issues - such is the general ignorance about mental health in this country. We can all speculate, and note some increasingly odd behaviour, but there is no real hard evidence that Brown is mentally unhinged. However, even if he is technically "sane", I'd argue that he is not in the best mental position to be PM.

Think about the position the Prime Minister finds himself in. He has lusted after this role for decades. For pretty much his entire adult life. He has plotted to get it, lost friends to get it. And he has listened to a narrative for over 10 years that he is the one; the man of integrity who is going to save Labour. That, of course, was shite - and now it is clear to everyone, including Brown. The country hates him, his party are despairing of him and the media are going for his jugular - every day he gets evidence that he is utterly shit at the job he has lusted after for so long. Even if he isn't suffering from a mental problem that could be diagnosed, Brown is still in the wrong mindset to be our Prime Minister. He is broken, bitter and angry. He is Britain's answer to Richard Nixon - destroyed by circumstance and paranoid and ineffective as a result.

Which is ultimately why these gossipy questions about his sanity are a distraction from what is important. Regardless of whether it is an issue of mental health or competence or both, Brown is not fit to be Prime Minister. It is that simple.