There have been calls within Labour ranks to make this week's conference a debate about policy, not the leadership, but Gordon Brown last night managed to weave the two related strands with aplomb.
The chancellor chose the Comedy Store at Deansgate Locks, Manchester, to perform his international routine on the first night of the Labour party conference. Looking relaxed at the podium, he seemed supremely confident as he preached to the converted attending the joint Unison/ Oxfam fringe on delivering the Millenium Development Goals by the target date of 2015.
Brown, who has spent a decent share of the past nine years worrying about the global poverty, warned how easily well intentioned political promises can stagnate. He was in his stride as he cited a number of pledges made but never fully realised over the past two decades: primary schooling for all was a goal first set in the early 1980s, for example, as was the pledge to provide free education for all children 12 years ago. "We must not allow the MDG to go exactly the same way," he said.
"Innovative financing" - the kind Brown is good at and which saw him float the idea of selling bonds on the international market to frontload resources to third world countries - could deliver all manner of things which, while utterly worthy, are expensive.
His underlying - though never explicit message- was: if you want the MDG to be met , you better ensure this politician gets a crack as leader.
And it was a case of "working together" - with the public sector unions, with developing world charities and NGOs, with the general public - to do so. No more us and them.
Example, it would cost each of us living in the G8 countries just 2p to ensure 100 million children - mostly girls - finally get to experience school.
"How do we want to be remembered? For power and fame and status or for the fact that we helped one child?" No one was sure whether Gordon Brown was referring to himself or to us all, but as a bid to raise his profile as a future Labour leader, it was one hell of a good pitch.
