Tightrope walking
- 29 Jul 07, 06:01 PM
Gordon Brown is walking a tightrope in advance of his first summit with President Bush. He's doing all he can to signal to people at home that the Brown/Bush relationship will be very different to the Blair/Bush partnership, whilst striving to reassure the Americans that nothing fundamental has changed.
So, in a lengthy statement released in advance Mr Brown does not mention the word Iraq once but he does praise America's stand against international terrorism.
He does declare that he is an Atlanticist and an admirer of the American spirit before going on to talk of our two countries shared history, values and challenges for the future without spelling out how they stand together now.
Aware that, for political reasons, he must never be seen to be as close to George Bush as Tony Blair, we are told that the the Prime Minister will wear a suit - not chinos as his predecessor did - and will not be accompanied by his wife because, we are told, it is not "that kind of meeting". The meeting Downing Street says it wants will focus on the need to revive world trade talks this summer and to ensure that an international peace keeping force is soon deployed in Darfur.
The Americans are likely to seek reassurances about Gordon Brown's plans for the country that dare not be mentioned. It has emerged that the prime minister's foreign affairs adviser recently asked American academics what the impact would be of a British withdrawal from Iraq. Downing Street insists that there are no plans for that nor has British policy changed. At dinner tonight when they are alone, the President may need more reassurance than that simple denial.
