Party scandal takes toll on Brown

LONDON - If a week is a long time in politics, then this week -- when Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been drawn into a scandal over secret political donations -- has been very long indeed.

Riding high in the polls five months ago when he succeeded Tony Blair, Brown's popularity has slid in the past two months as his government has stumbled from one debacle to another.

The latest affair threatens to eclipse those that have gone before and, although analysts do not predict anything so dramatic as the fall of the government, it could have repercussions for Brown's long-term electoral prospects.

"The wider issue is whether this is turning into Labour's equivalent of 'Black Wednesday' -- a series of events that change the way that voters think about the government," said pollster and political analyst Peter Kellner, referring to a day in 1992 that scuppered the then Conservative government.

"I think the electorate is yet to decide."

Dubbed "Donorgate" by the media, the scandal revolves around more than 650,000 pounds of donations made to Brown's Labour Party by a property developer who gave the money via intermediaries to avoid being identified.

There is no suggestion Brown, a former finance minister, is linked to the money. But senior members of his cabinet and inner circle are, and the police have been asked to investigate.

Brown, 56, came to office pledging to restore trust in politics after Blair was tarnished by a debacle over "cash for honours" -- the alleged granting of peerages and titles in exchange for donations.

A major stumble came last month when Brown ruled out an early election in what the opposition Conservatives called a retreat after Labour lost a double-digit lead in opinion polls.

And coming in the wake of two other controversies -- a run on a British bank for the first time in 140 years and the loss of computer discs containing private details of half the nation -- a "follow the money" affair was the last thing Brown needed.

"STALIN TO MR BEAN"

Police may still decide not to investigate the affair -- the general secretary of the Labour Party has already resigned over his role and the money has been returned.

But the damage appears to have been done to Brown and his government, and the opposition have their knives out.

Anthony Seldon, Tony Blair's biographer, believes it is only a matter of time before Brown suffers the consequences.

"I don't think this will bring the government down, but I think it could bring Brown down," he told Reuters.

"He isn't secure in his programme for the future and nor is he master of current events. If he doesn't recover before next May, the party will ask what the point of having him is."

Labour does not have to call a general election until 2010.

But according to one poll, the Conservatives now have an 11-point lead over Labour, their biggest advantage since Margaret Thatcher was in power. Just three months ago, Labour had an equivalent lead over the Conservatives.

Commentators say Brown, who waited years to take over from Blair, comes across as dark and brooding, an awkward follow-up to his predecessor's famed charisma. That came into play at Brown's appearance at prime minister's questions this week.

When an opposition politician suggested he was now less ruthless Stalin -- as a civil servant once described him -- and more TV comedy idiot Mr Bean, members of parliament on both sides roared with laughter.

Rather than a snappy comeback, Brown responded only with a crestfallen look.