Martha Kearney's week

By Martha Kearney Presenter, BBC Radio 4's World at One

"Gordon is a technocratic, highly qualified bully… and there is no one better to be in charge during this crisis."

The global economic problems mean the stakes are high for Gordon Brown

Those were the words of one reshuffled minister who has often been critical of the prime minister in the past.

"In fact he could be on his own in Cobra", referring to Cabinet Office briefing room A, which is Downing Street's answer to the West Wing's incident room.

Home to meetings in the past about terrorist attacks, floods and outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, this was where the new National Economic Council met for the first time on Monday.

Table manners

Gordon Brown thinks that Cobra is the best place for dealing with crises and puts people psychologically in the right place.

He sat at the head of the table with the Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell on his left. Ed Balls and Peter Mandelson were placed at opposite ends of the table for obvious reasons.

The room is fitted out with screens which can have any information piped in. On Monday this was Bloomberg and Reuters financial wires so that ministers could check the latest indices.

If the government's rescue package works and the banks begin lending to each other again, then he [Gordon Brown] really will have changed the political dynamic

At the moment they don't make for pleasant viewing. "Carnage" was the word used by the veteran City figure David Buik to describe the markets on Friday's programme.

Earlier in the week a banking economist told us we were on the edge of a precipice.

So the stakes couldn't be higher for Gordon Brown - both in terms of the country's future and his own political position.

If the government's rescue package works and the banks begin lending to each other again, then he really will have changed the political dynamic.

One of his closest allies was in buoyant mood on Wednesday when the rescue package was announced.

"We're back in the game", he said, cock-a-hoop after Prime Minister's Questions when, for probably the first time, Gordon Brown scored a decisive victory over David Cameron.

Lack of clarity

But I can't help wondering if there is a touch of hubris in headlines like "World Must Follow My Example, Says Brown" before there is evidence that the plan is actually working.

There is a lot which remains unclear about the package too, in particular over the issue of executive remuneration.

That really is a burning political issue as many taxpayers would be outraged to see their money being passed on in huge bonuses.

At Wednesday's press conference the Chancellor Alistair Darling said he had asked the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to look at the issue.

Gordon Brown maintained it was one of the conditions of the negotiations with the bank.

'Unworkable restrictions'

When I interviewed Adair Turner from the FSA, at first he said he was far more concerned with the capitalisation of the banks.

When I pressed him, Lord Turner then said there was an issue with executive remuneration but that it would be dealt with as part of an international programme looking at guidelines.

That sounds much longer term than Gordon Brown was suggesting.

Can restrictions on pay work anyway?

On Friday's programme a City lawyer told Brian Hanrahan that setting out principles hadn't worked in the past but regulating each individual executive would be unworkable.

He concluded by saying that if there were real restrictions, talented executives would move away from London anyway.

But if the rescue package doesn't work, then the issue of executive remuneration will be redundant as there may not be many bankers left to pay.

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