Making political hay out of Beijing

SO FAR, Team Great Britain (GB) have done ok at the Beijing Olympics, as the medal table tallies up to 25 medals in total - with our Olympic heroes scooping 11 golds.

Team GB are currently in third place in the medal tables, just behind the USA and China, the hosts who have had an outstanding Olympics.

But what are the political implications for this sudden boost in winning for struggling British prime minister Gordon Brown? Great Britain's sporting achievements may well end up being a boost for Gordon Brown's Labour Party, who are lagging in the polls behind the rejuvenated Tory Party under the hotshot leader David Cameron.

As the Olympics loom into its last week, and the summer holidays draw to an end, well, that is, if you are a school child ofcourse, if you are a politician, the summer has only just begun.

But Gordon Brown must be watching the Olympics the same as everybody else, and thinking, and plotting: "Can I make a political point out of this?"

Minister Andy Burnham has been parading around media studios claiming the success of Team GB in the Olympics 2008 is down to the Labour Party.

Ofcourse, those who are cynical know that when things are going well, the party in government will always try to claim that the success is partly down to them.

And maybe it is. But, it is a sideshow to the athletes who have slogged for years and years to win Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.

As Mike Smithson, of the website Political Betting.com so aptly puts it: "After more extraordinary sessions for the British teams in the Olympic games and it was inevitable, I suppose, that a politician should pop up and claim that they did it."

He adds: "But it’s dangerous stuff trying to claim credit in this way. Firstly, it appears to detract from the performances of the athletes in Beijing themselves, and secondly, it raises the question - where did the money come from that has made this happen?"

Smithson then goes on to say that no doubt, the Tories will be arguing that it was John Major’s pet project, the National Lottery, which has transformed the funding of sports and arts/cultural projects.

He argues: "The best thing that ministers should do is shut up and hope that the general uplift in the public mood will boost Labour."

No doubt, if the Tories are in power in 2012, and the London games are a success, the parties will be continuing to brawl about who the real success is down to.

Just like the economy, Labour inherited a relatively stable one, so, it stands to reason Labour will try to take the credit for 2012.

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