So is Gordon Brown actually mad?

From Guido Fawkes:

A rumour went round after Monday's disastrous press briefing that Gordon had wet himself. Guido didn't report the story because he was unable to substantiate it from the video evidence. That it was even rumoured and given any credence whatsoever shows that people in the Westminster Village think he is a man close to the edge of total breakdown. The humiliating truth is that Gordon Brown is not mentally fit for purpose.

Now, whether or not Gordon actually wet himself is pretty unimportant as far as I am concerned. On balance, I don't think he did. This is like the story about John Major tucking his shirt into his underpants; it is comedy, it is quite funny, it is sort of believable; but I don't think it is reality. The real point is the one Guido mentions at the end of that paragraph. That Gordon Brown might not be mentally fit for purpose.

Making any sort of diagnosis of Gordon's mental state is problematic for me; I'm not a psychiatrist or a psycho-therapist, and I have only second information on Gordon's mental state through the media. But there are some tell-tale signs that all is not well for Gordon, and he looks like a man on the brink of a breakdown. As times, Gordon almost comes across as positively psychotic - something backed up by the talk of bullying and violent (at least towards mobile phones) rages. Gordon may be suffering from depression, he may be on the verge of a breakdown and he may be mentally ill; however, I don't think any of these should really matter.

Mental illness is far more prevalent across society than many realise. People function with depression, they have breakdowns but survive and get better. Very successful politicians have suffered from mental illness. Famously, Winston Churchill was a depressive. And some leaders have had breakdowns, but have still gone on leading. Stalin, for example, appeared to have a complete mental breakdown after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Yet he recovered, and led his country to victory in that war. Gordon may be suffering from some sort of mental illness; that doesn't necessarily mean he should be forced from office. 

The real issue with Gordon isn't mental illness, but it is something relating to his mental state. He has become completely detached from reality. He has listened to his own hype, his own spun, for too long. He was destined - according to his own prophecy - to be the man who would take Labour from the shadow of Tony Blair and be a more honourable and decent leader. Britain was crying out for him, and he had been forced to keep us all waiting. And when the credit crunch started to bite, it became more and more clear that Gordon was the man to lead us from the shadows into the light, like a Winston Churchill for economically difficult times. In the world of Gordon Brown, he is the hero. He is our salvation. And those who do not back him are being difficult, unpatriotic and have, quite frankly, are standing in the way of history. 

Of course, as anyone with half a brain cell will tell you, that is all palpable nonsense. It has no connection whatsoever with reality. Yet Gordon has absolutely bought into a myth that he created in the first place. And this is the problem we have in this country today. We are facing serious problems, we need to have a government with a consistent and realistic view of what is happening and what should be done to deal with it. Yet our Prime Minister has no concept of what these serious problems are, and does not understand that they have to be dealt with in an effective way as soon as possible. In fact, the PM seems to resent reality interfering with his carefully constructed facade of a life. His problem isn't mental illness, it is a fundamental refusal to connect with reality on any level.

Which makes Gordon a very dangerous man to have as Prime Minister. He has the power to cripple this country financially as he pursues his insane agenda to make his self-created vision of himself and of his destiny into a reality. He could bankrupt this country in his vain attempts to fulfill a prophecy that he has created and is important to him, and him alone. We should all be worried, very worried, by the arguably delusional status of our Prime Minister. He is pursuing a selfish agenda utterly disconnected from reality. And is dragging each and every one of us with him as he does so.