Papers weigh up Brown's prospects
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7110586.stm Version 0 of 1. The past week has been terrible for the government, the papers agree. But they are divided on how serious the situation is for Gordon Brown. Labour is not panicking like the Tories under John Major, the Independent says, and Mr Brown can turn things round. But the Daily Express thinks that the prime minister's credibility has collapsed and that he is a dead duck. Matthew Parris in the Times says that Britain should consider the possibility that Mr Brown is not up to the job. Armed and dangerous There is much analysis of the government's armed forces record. The Times believes that Gordon Brown must think again about the military because of a perception that ministers do not take it seriously enough. Mr Brown should take charge of defence and show that he truly cares about servicemen and women, the Sun urges. Front-line personnel do not wave placards, says the Daily Mail. But the defence secretary's ears would catch fire if he sat down with any of them, it adds. Football crazy The fall-out after all four UK football teams failed to qualify for Euro 2008 is still being felt in the press. Whoever gets the vacant England manager's job will face an uncomfortable task, warns the Guardian. But the Sun is less downbeat - it wants to see a home nations tournament next summer to fend off boredom. Backing its campaign are England legend Jimmy Greaves, Scots hero Frank McLintock, Northern Ireland's Gerry Armstrong and Wales' Graham Williams. Fish out of water It is a sight to behold, says the Daily Telegraph: mobula ray fish leaping out of the sea and taking to the air. They have been spotted performing a range of aerial manoeuvres off the coast of Mexico including backflips, belly-flops and somersaults, it adds. Lack of water resistance may mean they crash through waves while chasing fish, the Daily Mirror suggests. The paper describes one of the 10ft (3.4m)-long aquatic creatures as "a giant portion of flied fish". |