British Prime Minister Gordon Brown fared well in his tough test as he reacted soberly to a foiled car bombing plot in London, commentators said on Friday.
Several newspaper editorialists complimented him not just on his reaction to the discovery of the alleged plot but also on his appointments of ministers who will deal with the Middle East and the threat of terrorism.
The Guardian said the initial signs were that Brown, seen as a powerful intellect but socially awkward, has so far fared better than his predecessor Tony Blair, who left office on Wednesday after 10 years in power.
"The big risk was that [Brown] would succumb to the temptation to win spurs as a warrior against terrorism by overreacting," the Guardian wrote in an editorial.
"That is what Tony Blair did soon after the 2005 London bombings, when ... he stood up and announced the `rules of the game have changed' and committed himself to eye-catching, draconian measures," it said.
Such an impulsive approach, it said, failed to make Britain more secure and set his government up for defeat in parliament when it tried to have terrorist suspects held for 90 days without trial or charge.
"It is far too soon to say whether Mr. Brown will do better, although the signs yesterday were encouraging," the newspaper said.
"Properly, he [Brown] called for vigilance in the face of a `serious and continuous' threat. But he did not seek to play up the danger, or to capitalize on it," it said.
It hailed him for shunning the "politics of fear."
Brown's remarks were in reaction to the discovery of the first explosives-rigged car which police said had been set to blow up outside a night club near Piccadilly Circus on Thursday.
Police confirmed that a second car bomb had been intended to explode around the same time.
The Guardian also praised Jacqui Smith, Brown's home secretary, for showing a "refreshing realism" by acknowledging it was impossible to eliminate completely all security risks. Other dailies, such as the Independent, agreed.
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