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March 17, 2010 | Brown is Not Such a Long Shot After All

David Cameron of Britain’s Conservative Party seems like the favorite to win May’s general election, but that assumption is no longer a given. ++ Poll numbers between Cameron and Brown are narrowing, which could lead to the “Truman effect” where the underdog ends up winning. ++ This shift is the result of Cameron’s poor image management and Brown’s resonating message to voters that they already

June 8, 2009 | A Tectonic Shift Could Be Heading for UK Politics

Following disastrous results in the European and local elections on the weekend, Gordon Brown’s premiership is undoubtedly in its death throes. ++ “The danger for Labour is that, if he remains at the helm, the party itself could be imperilled.” ++ History shows that great parties can rise and fall and it would be dangerous to assume that “British politics is fixed for good in a

November 3, 2008 | Business Interests Trumping Environmental Concerns

The biggest loser from the global recession will be the environment. ++ In the interest of business, Gordon Brown and his Labour Party look set to revive talks over an expansion of Heathrow and Standsted airports. ++ Although carbon emissions from air travel in the UK only account for 6.3% of current total output, that number is set to skyrocket to as high as 16% by 2020. ++ It seems as if Labour

October 17, 2008 | Financial Crisis Vindicates the EU

The Brown-Darling rescue package for British banks not only provided a template to follow for the rest of the EU, but was also adopted by the US. ++ The British PM did not rest on his laurels and is leading international action even further by calling for reform of global financial institutions like the IMF. ++ This crisis has had one positive outcome: Europeans finally have their act together.

October 13, 2008 | God Save the Queen - She is Saving Us

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling “have shown us the way through this financial crisis.” ++ The British Prime Minister and his officials lead the world in assessing the financial crisis and quickly enacting an apt solution. ++ The problem: lack of capital in the banking system; Brown’s solution: equity injections, a type of temporary nationalization, with the first commitment of funds coming to

January 17, 2008 | Gordon Brown Praises the EU

In a speech before business leaders, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown stressed the need for the UK to remain engaged with the EU, in order to push for “reforms that are essential for Europe’s, and Britain’s, economic future.”
Brown, delivering a very pro-European note ahead of a political struggle for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, rejected calls by the opposition Tories to put the treaty to a

September 27, 2007 | Europe + America = Geopolitical Sense: Europeans Rebuilding Transatlantic Bridges

Anti-Americanism in Europe has had its day, writes Stryker McGuire of Newsweek International. With Bush’s departure in sight and the gradual fading of contentions over Iraq, an amicable attitude towards the United States appears to be emerging with unlikely duo France and Germany leading the way.

However, where French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both

September 3, 2007 | UK Accepts Defeat in Iraq and Focuses on Terrorism

Officials in Washington are confused and disappointed at British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s decision to withdraw troops from Iraq and focus more on Afghanistan, reports Con Coughlin of the Daily Telegraph. Brown, who played a key role in the run-up to the Iraq invasion during Tony Blair’s term in office, is now refusing responsibility for the chaos in Iraq. Coughlin warns Brown and