Reaching out

... healing the wounds. Gordon Brown promises all that sort of stuff; he'd a damned fool if he didn't.

Gordon Brown set a blistering pace in his first full day as prime minister by totally recasting his cabinet and announcing that the new team will meet today in a special session to discuss his plans to restore trust in politics lost during the last decade.

But before passing judgement on his sincerity or otherwise let's see how he's going to do it. Constitutional reform is one way - with a minister given responsibility for "ending political disconnection" - Jack Straw.

Jack bleeding Straw. For all those disconnected by concerns about the war in Iraq, ties to the US, Muslims feeling singled out for hostile treatment and those worried about sleazy opportunistic politics it's the equivalent of a grunted "have a nice day" from a surly teenager who's just blown his nose on the rancid burger you have, idiotically, just purchased from a well-known chain; equal to a one-night stand getting a taxi home at 3am because of work tomorrow; the offer of your old job for less money - a giant "fuck you" made all the more insulting because of the thread-bare courtesy. (There are also some, erm, interesting rumours which a bit of Googling might lead you to: not gonna take the risk of linking to them directly).

I suppose what with having such giant intellects, Brown and co might well have reached a conclusion that the public are deeply stupid (a look at TV does tend to support that case). But what of all those fierce and principled critics of the war in Iraq - a conflict which Brown passionately supported - who have signed up to the Brown administration. Are they letting bygones by bygones in a bid to sort out the problems we now face, deluding themselves, deeply stupid, or just hypocrites? They're politicians, mostof them, so you might tend towards the more negative conclusions. At least until that nice Mr Straw makes you feel loved and wanted again.