London, May 4 (DPA) Prime Minister Gordon Brown indicated Tuesday that he is thinking about life beyond politics should his ruling Labour Party fair badly in Britain’s general election this week.
He would take “full responsibility” for whatever happened May 6, Brown told TV channel GMTV. “If I couldn’t make a difference any more, I would go off and do something else,” he said.
The remark came amid heightened speculation that Brown could come under pressure to step down as Labour leader in the event of a hung parliament, a situation where neither Labour, nor the Conservatives, would have an overall majority of parliamentary seats.
Labour could then find itself in the situation of having to discuss a power-sharing arrangement with the Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems), whose support has surged in this election.
Reports have suggested that, in view of Brown’s personal unpopularity, he could be forced to make way for a new party leader in order to facilitate talks with the Lib Dems.
At present, Labour is running third after the Lib Dems in the opinion polls, but hopes to improve its position to regain second place. If that fails and the result is a disaster for Labour, Brown could decide – or be forced to decide – to quit.
Flanked by his wife, Sarah, he said he could imagine doing some charity work. “I don’t want to do business or anything else – I just want to do something good,” he said.
With just two days left until polling day, leading Labour figures have openly urged voters to consider switching their support to the Lib-Dems in tactical voting designed to “keep out the Conservatives”.
The Conservatives, under David Cameron, are leading the polls, but Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, the undisputed star of this election, has left it open which side he would support if it should come to talks about an alliance or coalition government.
The Liberals are in second place after the Conservatives, having increased their popularity rating from around 22 percent to between 28 and 29 percent, following Clegg’s highly-rated performance in TV election debates between the three leaders.
