Ginny Dougary :: Award-winning journalist and writer » Politicians http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk Politics, celebrities, interviews, opinions, travel, and more... Tue, 18 May 2010 16:07:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Gordon Brown interview: the election, Blair and family life http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2010/04/10/gordon-brown-interview-the-election-blair-and-family-life/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2010/04/10/gordon-brown-interview-the-election-blair-and-family-life/#comments Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:27:54 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=328 Gordon Brown talks candidly to Ginny Dougary Photo: Mitch Jenkins Gordon Brown By our third meeting, the Prime Minister’s skill at the public kiss had improved immeasurably. There was now definite contact between lips and cheek and no head clunking, although he still needs to work on his puckering technique. When I commented on his progress, in the library of 10 Downing Street, he laughed... which is something he does a lot, the more we meet, in-between some rather solemn moments. My teasing had come on the back of seeing his turn on Piers Morgan’s television show, and the clips of him bungling the continental double-kiss with the likes of Carla Bruni (but, really, who can blame him for being a little fazed by that?). In the run-up to the election, the beauty contest between David Cameron and Gordon Brown is hotting up. After Brown’s hour with Morgan came his opponent’s twirl with Trevor McDonald, featuring the Tory’s “secret weapon” – after Sarah Brown’s endorsement of her husband, at last year’s Labour Party conference, proved such a hit – David’s wife, Samantha. But McDonald’s gentle lack of probing did his subject no favours, and Cameron’s performance – not helped by some rather ludicrous footage of him jogging to a soundtrack of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good – merely reinforced his critics’ complaints that he is a lightweight. Brown has the opposite problem; where Cameron is accused of “hidden shallows”, the PM is thought to be almost too deep. There were cavils about him looking upset (apparently there is also such a thing as being “too human”) when discussing the death of his baby daughter, Jennifer, with Morgan but, on the whole, the attempt to portray him as less remote and more normal worked. So thus far, in the battle of the populist TV shows, it’s probably 15-love to Brown. Related posts:
  1. Tebbit hits out at Tories and names Brown as Thatcher’s natural heir
  2. Who is David Cameron?
  3. Tony Blair on Gaza, Catholicism, Iraq and Cherie
]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2010/04/10/gordon-brown-interview-the-election-blair-and-family-life/feed/ 0 Pauline Prescott: ‘John would have resigned over his affair’ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2010/03/07/pauline-prescott-john-would-have-resigned-over-his-affair/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2010/03/07/pauline-prescott-john-would-have-resigned-over-his-affair/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:12:37 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=307 Pauline Prescott Photo: Phil Fisk Pauline Prescott and I have been instructed to keep the volume down by a prefectorial therapist down the corridor from our tiny “treatment” room, where we are sitting opposite one another across a table, mercifully, rather than a collapsible massage bed. For one of us, at least, the pre-emptive admonition is redundant. Paul, as she is known by her husband (she calls him Prescott, as in, so she says, “Move it, Prescott”) has the dulcet tones that our greatest playwright celebrated, “Her voice was ever soft/ Gentle and low, an excellent thing in a woman.” The former Deputy Prime Minister, however, unlike Shakespeare, apparently ticks off his wife for speaking too quietly. Well, tick-off shtick-off... Since Traceygate, the balance of power in their 50-year marriage has, Mrs Prescott confirms, shifted (irrevocably, one suspects) to her advantage. Related posts:
  1. Is John Humphrys really the pussycat of Radio 4?
  2. Gordon Brown interview: the election, Blair and family life
  3. Destiny’s daughter
]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2010/03/07/pauline-prescott-john-would-have-resigned-over-his-affair/feed/ 0 Mikhail Gorbachev: the man who changed the world http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/09/07/the-man-who-changed-the-world/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/09/07/the-man-who-changed-the-world/#comments Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:25:55 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=232 Photo: Graham Wood Mikhail Gorbachev may be pushing 80 but when he talks, people still listen, particularly (or, perhaps, exclusively) outside his own country, and that includes the 44th president of the United States. The first and last President of the former Soviet Union is telling me about his meeting with Barack Obama, during the latter’s extended honeymoon period, not so long ago, when he said: “‘I congratulate you because two months after the election your popularity was growing and your popularity is still growing.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Just you wait, it’ll go down.’” A gusty blast of a laugh. “And I liked him saying that.” The man who was determined to modernise the USSR through glasnost and perestroika (the last time Russian words tripped off the tongue), which led to its collapse and transformed the world beyond, is now greatly in demand as a speaker in the United States. He remembers one particular lecture, three years ago during the Bush administration, when he was faced with the following question: “What would you recommend for America now that we are in a very difficult situation?” “I said, ‘Well, to give advice to other countries, particularly to Americans, would be wrong. It’s for you to sort out what you need to do.’ But nevertheless, they said, ‘What’s your advice?’ Related posts:
  1. Tony Blair on Gaza, Catholicism, Iraq and Cherie
  2. It’s the world that’s gone mad and had a war while I’ve just been sitting quietly in my tent
  3. Gordon Brown interview: the election, Blair and family life
]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/09/07/the-man-who-changed-the-world/feed/ 0 Who is David Cameron? http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/05/25/who-is-david-cameron/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/05/25/who-is-david-cameron/#comments Mon, 25 May 2009 20:03:18 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=188 Photo: Tom Stoddart If David Cameron wants to survive to become the next prime minister, he should avoid being driven at all costs. We are hurtling through the narrow, winding country roads of West Oxfordshire, having left his constituency headquarters in Witney (Tory-blue carpet and chairs; wobbly round table; rough Cotswold stonewalls) a fraction behind schedule for the 20-minute journey to Chimney Meadows nature reserve, where Cameron is to deliver a speech. Related posts:
  1. Gordon Brown interview: the election, Blair and family life
  2. Tebbit hits out at Tories and names Brown as Thatcher’s natural heir
  3. David Blunkett: The Musical
]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/05/25/who-is-david-cameron/feed/ 0 Tony Blair on Gaza, Catholicism, Iraq and Cherie http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/01/31/tony-blair-on-gaza-catholicism-iraq-and-cherie/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/01/31/tony-blair-on-gaza-catholicism-iraq-and-cherie/#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:25:31 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=152 Photo: Nick Danziger It’s an exhausting business interviewing Tony Blair. For a start, everyone has an opinion about him and feels the need to express it, usually with some force. Cab drivers, handymen and the like – certainly in the UK – call him all sorts of unprintable names. Their main complaint is Iraq, as is everyone else’s, but they also blame him for the spend-spend-spend culture which in their opinion has landed us in the mess we’re in now. Related news Related posts:
  1. Tony Blair
  2. Gordon Brown interview: the election, Blair and family life
  3. The labours of Cherie
]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/01/31/tony-blair-on-gaza-catholicism-iraq-and-cherie/feed/ 0 I asked her whether she felt immortal. No, she answered http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/01/06/i-asked-her-whether-she-felt-immortal-no-she-answered/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/01/06/i-asked-her-whether-she-felt-immortal-no-she-answered/#comments Sun, 06 Jan 2008 16:17:32 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/01/06/i-asked-her-whether-she-felt-immortal-no-she-answered/ Benazir Bhutto was via e-mail in October after the first attempt on her life when she returned to Pakistan to fight the free elections which General Musharraf had promised. Related posts:
  1. Destiny’s daughter
  2. The labours of Cherie
  3. The incredible lightness of Salman
]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/01/06/i-asked-her-whether-she-felt-immortal-no-she-answered/feed/ 0 The torchbearer http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/09/29/the-torchbearer/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/09/29/the-torchbearer/#comments Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:05:28 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/09/29/the-torchbearer/
  • Tebbit hits out at Tories and names Brown as Thatcher’s natural heir
  • Gordon Brown interview: the election, Blair and family life
  • Who is David Cameron?
    • ]]>     http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/09/29/the-torchbearer/feed/ 0     Al Gore – he’s hot http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/07/20/al-gore-he%e2%80%99s-hot/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/07/20/al-gore-he%e2%80%99s-hot/#comments Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:10:44 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/07/20/al-gore-he%e2%80%99s-hot/ Photo: Brett Wilson The Goracle – also known in Washington these days as “Al Gore: rock star” – clears his throat and starts singing the lines from a Bob Dylan song quietly and unselfconsciously: “ ‘I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now’ . . . it’s a lovely lyric. He’s written so many great ones . . . like ‘He not busy being born is busy dying’.” The former Vice-President of the United States may be joining the likes of Madonna and the Pussy-cat Dolls on stage at Wembley’s Live Earth concert tomorrow but his vocalising – as far as I know – will be restricted to challenging each and every member of the audience to make a pledge right now to do his or her bit to save the planet. Related posts:
    1. Gordon Brown interview: the election, Blair and family life
    2. Preacher man
    3. Ice castles
    ]]>     http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/07/20/al-gore-he%e2%80%99s-hot/feed/ 0     Destiny’s daughter http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/04/28/destiny%e2%80%99s-daughter/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/04/28/destiny%e2%80%99s-daughter/#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2007 07:00:06 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/05/02/destiny%e2%80%99s-daughter/ Photo: Mark Harrison Related posts:
    1. I asked her whether she felt immortal. No, she answered
    2. The labours of Cherie
    3. Pauline Prescott: ‘John would have resigned over his affair’
    ]]>     http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/04/28/destiny%e2%80%99s-daughter/feed/ 0     Happy days http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/07/05/happy-days/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/07/05/happy-days/#comments Wed, 05 Jul 2006 12:41:52 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/07/05/happy-days/
  • The torchbearer
  • The labours of Cherie
  • David Blunkett: The Musical
    • ]]>     http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/07/05/happy-days/feed/ 0     The labours of Cherie http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/05/20/the-labours-of-cherie/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/05/20/the-labours-of-cherie/#comments Sat, 20 May 2006 14:38:29 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/05/13/the-labours-of-cherie/ Ginny Dougary For all her achievements as Cherie Booth QC, Cherie Blair has had a rocky ride at No 10. Ginny Dougary joined her on last month’s tour of Pakistan and Afghanistan to gain a remarkable close-up view of the PM’s spouse in action. Cherie Blair Related posts:
    1. I asked her whether she felt immortal. No, she answered
    2. Tony Blair on Gaza, Catholicism, Iraq and Cherie
    3. Destiny’s daughter
    ]]>     http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/05/20/the-labours-of-cherie/feed/ 0     David Blunkett: The Musical http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/10/01/david-blunkett-the-musical/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/10/01/david-blunkett-the-musical/#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2005 21:45:15 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=25
  • David, Kimberly, Boris and Petsy: it’s showtime
  • Who is David Cameron?
  • Happy days
    • ]]>     http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/10/01/david-blunkett-the-musical/feed/ 0     David, Kimberly, Boris and Petsy: it’s showtime http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/04/13/david-kimberly-boris-and-petsy-its-showtime/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/04/13/david-kimberly-boris-and-petsy-its-showtime/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2005 15:57:03 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/04/13/david-kimberly-boris-and-petsy-its-showtime/
  • David Blunkett: The Musical
  • Who is David Cameron?
  • David Hockney on why iPhones are the future for art
    • ]]>     http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/04/13/david-kimberly-boris-and-petsy-its-showtime/feed/ 0