Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Teaching wee Dougie social skills?

What an amusing little tale in the Financial Times about Douglas Alexander. Apparently his Sir Humphreys are a little concerned with his inability to interact with people.
Mr Alexander is unpopular in part because of shortcomings in the social skills department. According to rumour control, civil servants have actually had to sit him down and tell him that he would do better if he looked people in the eye and thanked them for coming in. (The approved method for telling politicians unpleasant home truths is for a senior official to breeze in and say: “Now, minister, you’ll want some feedback on how you are doing...” )
There are some interesting snippets about the head of the Civil Service Sir Gus O’Donnell as well as the other "teenagers" in the Cabinet.
Hat Tip: A lurgy ridden Ben Brogan

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wee Douglas has the remarkabnle political skill of being able to talk at enormous length without actually saying anything AT ALL.

Anonymous said...

Must be a fimily trait- his sister (Wendy)is just as able to talk for hours saying nothing in the Scottish Parliament

Anonymous said...

I see people have been able to identify the relevant Perm sec from the article, and he has not denied making the remarks.

Having a pop at GB puts ones career into intensive care: bringing the Cabinet Secretary in is career death. Speculation is rife that a "resignation" is imminent.

Not sure this looks too good for the health of Sue Cameron's contacts book, neither.