This afternoon, we went to St Asaph for the enthronement of Bishop Gregory. The cathedral was full, the choir in fine voice and the organist on top form.
Before delivering his final blessing, the new bishop recalled the words of Pope Leo X, who reportedly declared on his accession: “Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it.”
The bishop, who had previously told us how daunted he felt by the heavy responsibility that had passed to him, hastened to assure us that he did not propose to emulate the excesses of Leo, one of the worst popes ever, but nevertheless fully intended to enjoy his time at St Asaph.
Driving back, I reflected that Gordon Brown would do well to take a leaf out of Bishop Gregory’s book, and Pope Leo’s too. He clearly is not enjoying being Prime Minister; he always looks thoroughly miserable. And it’s nothing to do with the economic crisis; he’s looked thoroughly miserable since day one.
In this respect, he stands in contrast to both Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher, who, irrespective of the problems they faced, always seemed to be enjoying the prime ministerial role tremendously.
Perhaps – probably, indeed – Gordon is just one of nature’s unhappy people. Perhaps he couldn’t lighten up, even if he tried.
But it does seem a dreadful pity that, having attained the highest office in the land and achieved his lifetime’s ambition, he is so obviously having such a bloody awful time.
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