the mother of all understatements.

[thedaffodils]

So that’s what Alastair Campbell meant when he complained about Gordon Brown’s ‘psychological flaws’. At the time the phrase had a hugely debilitating effect on Tony Blair’s leadership; now it reads like the mother of all understatements. If an even temperament is a vital quality in a leader, then Mr Brown should never have been allowed through the door of Number 10.

Gordon Brown: 'psychological flaws' is starting to look like an understatment - Telegraph

What does the sentence I hightlighted in blue mean?



Thank you very much.

 

[TheParser]

Gordon Brown: 'psychological flaws' is starting to look like an understatment - Telegraph

What does the sentence I hightlighted in blue mean?



Thank you very much.

***NOT A TEACHER***thedaffodils, good morning. The mother of all X = the best or greatest of something. One book of idioms says that it started in the 1980's when a certain leader referred to "the mother of all battles" during a certain war. In your quotation, it appears that Mr. Campbell once referred to Mr. Brown's alleged "psychological flaws." The writer of the article thinks that "psychological flaws" is the greatest understatement of all time. (In other words, the writer thinks that the prime minister's "problems" are much more serious than mere "psychological flaws." Of course, please remember that it is only the writer's opinion.) Thank you.