Brown says good to be impatient and strong-willed

POPULARITY DEFICIT

Brown faces an uphill battle convincing the electorate that he makes a better leader than Cameron. Polls have consistently shown that he is personally less popular than the Labour Party, while Cameron is more popular than the Conservatives.

A January poll by Populus found that when asked to put aside party preferences, 40 percent of respondents said Cameron would make a better prime minister to face a recession while only 29 percent favoured Brown.

"When I say that policy and character go together, it's whether you have a clear idea of what you want to do, whether you're determined to push that through, and whether you're sufficiently impatient and strong-willed to push aside the barriers that stand in your way," Brown said on Wednesday.

His personality has been in focus since the publication on February 21 of detailed allegations by a political journalist that he had terrified staff by shouting abuse at them and in some cases had physically intimidated them.

Brown, the son of a Scottish clergyman, has denied the specific allegations. Close allies, such as Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, have sought to put a positive spin on the media speculation, portraying Brown as a driven man who was demanding of staff but above all of himself.