By Paul Goodman
Over at the Spectator's Coffee House, Fraser Nelson has the story that Gordon Brown's asked a London speaking agency to tout for speaking engagements for
him in the Middle East and Asia.
He writes –
"And the price? [Brown's] been offered at
$100,000 a pop and is promising to speak on areas
covered by his new book, The Financial Crisis, which is due out soon.
That should have 'em roaring in the aisles.
A hundred grand – and in dollars, not pounds – is a lot less, of
course, than the figures commanded by Blair, Clinton or, in her day,
Thatcher. But our ex-Dear Leader doesn't have quite
their international cache. So $100,000 for an hour's work would be not
a bad fee for a son of the manse with his self-styled moral compass and
parsimonious bent.
There are more demands. Whoever wants him – and I'm told there
actually is some interest in the Gulf – would also have to stump up for
five-star hotel accommodation, a first-class seat
and three business-class ones."
Nelson points out that "Tony Blair has been pledging a slice of his massive post-PM earnings to The Royal
Legion". Brown's bound to be asked, given his broadcast recently about the catastrophe in Pakistan, whether he'll promise a slice of his to the flood victims.