Balls is not a happy bunny

Looks like like young Balls will get called into see the Headmaster at some stage today.  He has said this about Iraq on GMTV this morning:

We ought to have tried for longer and harder to get [Saddam Hussein] to open up.  In my view, in retrospect, we should have taken longer to find the evidence.

And on the inquiry:

If you're asking my personal view, I'd prefer it to be as open a process as possible.  I'm sure the Prime Minister looked into this in great detail, but it's really important that generals, officers and ministers can feel they can come forward and give evidence that is "very open".

In other words Balls wanted the inquiry held in public, a view no doubt held by other Cabinet members.

And now for this jaw dropping comment on Brown:

He's a great leader in difficult times... He's the right man for now.

Balls is obviously unhappy that that he is not Chancellor.  However, he doing himself no favours in being critical of his leader and saying, ‘He's the right man for now’.  Mandy will be all over him.  Balls has much to learn.

One further thought.  It would have been far better if Cameron had gone on Iraq today at PMQs rather than use his 6 questions on the economy and cuts.  Cameron should expose Brown where he is weakest, which is on every subject apart from the economy.  Cameron's worst performance for weeks and he knew it.