IT is hard to know what to make of Gordon Brown.

He has gone from a Prime Minister making an assured start to one who appears to have lost his touch.

As Chancellor, he was renowned for his ability to please backbenchers by having the confidence to pull Budget rabbits out of his hat. And yet his first Queen's Speech as Prime Minister yesterday was a rabbit-free zone.

In fact, it was all rather predictable, with a number of Bills hanging over from the Blair era adding to the sense that there was nothing really new to get excited about.

It adds up to a dilemma for Mr Brown.

His early popularity as Prime Minister - before the own goal of the early election talk - was attributed to his cautious, unspectacular approach. It was seen as a refreshing change from the flashiness of his predecessor.

Will a return to that "Not Flash, Just Gordon" approach, signalled by yesterday's speech, see a resurgence in his fortunes?

Or does he need to rediscover the ability to surprise which characterised his time as Chancellor?

Time, of course, will tell. But it seems that Gordon Brown - shaken by his sudden fall from favour - has opted to lay safe legislative foundations on which to build towards a more eye-catching Queen's Speech next time round.

After all the misguided talk of an early election, he is now intent on giving himself time to establish a truly Brownite agenda, as free as he can be of the Blair loose-ends, before he goes to the country.