Can Brown change beyond recognition?

Following Mandy's conjuring trick yesterday when he created the illusion that the comrades are happy and it will be ‘alright on the night’, we come to the speech that does matter.

There are leaks a plenty on how Brown will now reach out to Middle England after all these years.  Then we get his unsurprising late conversion to a leaders TV debate.  Don’t get taken in.  Nothing is decided and it could all fall through:

Industry insiders admit that prospect remains some way off as Sky refuses to join the BBC and ITV in setting up a negotiating team, fearing that the terrestrial broadcasters will fail to give it an equal share.

But the speech is much more than a headline seeking exercise.  Brown has got to prove beyond doubt that he can communicate not only with the Labour party, but more importantly with the country.  He has got to show that he can do the empathy thingy.  Brown has to look to the future and not bang-on relentlessly that his policies have “saved the world”.

Then we come the higher mountains that Brown has to climb.  Just how will he address the twin peaks of credibility and trust?  Moreover, he got to open up to the country and talk about his failings, which could be a bridge too far.

Overshadowing all this, Brown has to silence his doubters in the Labour party and give the public a strong message about why he should stay in No 10.  No easy task as most have already written him off.

The speech has to be reported as a “success” and not be forgotten when Wednesday's newspapers are thrown away.

This afternoon may not be the definitive moment that seals his fate.  That will come with the post-conference polls and when MPs return to Westminster.

Our Dear Leader has a herculean challenge ahead of him to prove that he can lead as a Prime Minister should.

Brown has already proved he can play the part of Lazarus.  Today he got to do it all over again, after which the opportunity for a repeat performance has gone.