Britain begins Brown era: All thorns no roses

Destination for both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown will remain the same today - Buckingham Palace but for opposite ends: former to step down as Prime Minister of Britain and the latter to swing the nation into a new era.

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Brown, the longest continuous serving Chancellor of the Exchequer, may have ten long years of experience (in government) to his new job but conflicting views of people on both policy and personality of Gordon Brown make him an enigma for most, not only worldwide but in Europe as well, as he outrightly depicted in his coronation as Labour leader wherein he promised 'a decisive break with the Blair era'.

The question that must be tickling many a people in Britain as well as across the world is the changes that Gordon Brown will make to British foreign policy after making his way to Downing Street.

Foreseeing the mind and approach of Gordon Brown, a politician who always has a plan and a thinker who goes through everything, is not only difficult but somewhat impossible, as far as foreign policy is concerned.

Relations with America

America (over the years) has enjoyed good relations with Britain under Tony Blair. However, Brown also has supported (though quietly) all the incursions (be it Iraq, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan) carried out by the Blair-led government, but the question remains as to how far he would carry forward those relations himself.

Though, Mr. Brown has close ties with the United States, but many political experts believe that under present circumstances, wherein Bush has lost his credibility (especially over war on terror), Brown would like to draw a definite line between him and Blair in chasing U.S. blindly and turning into 'Bush's poodle', until the Americans choose their next president by the end of next year.

War on terror

Britain always has a tough stance on international terrorism (especially Islamic) as the nation is one of the targets of Islamic militants itself. Brown's stance on 'war on terror' will perhaps design the destiny of his political career.

As far as British policy in Afghanistan is concerned, Brown has always taken a firm stand in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, since the 'war on terror' started in 2001 in Afghanistan, and strongly believes that terrorism must be uprooted completely across the world.

On the other, Mr. Brown may immediately reconsider for how long the British troops should stay in Iraq; however, he has always backed the bold decision to invade Iraq. But, with the altered goals and personal interests of the major ally, longer stay of troops in Iraq is possibly the burdened legacy that Brown would like to shun as quickly off as possible.

Middle East

Mr. Brown looks least concerned towards the never ending turbulence going on in the Middle East, Israel-Palestine and inter-Palestinian conflict (between Hamas and Fatah) at the centre, throughout his political career. Therefore, you may not find deep British concerns or intervention in the Middle East politics under Brown's leadership.

However, the only issue, which may draw Mr. Brown's intentions in the Middle East, of interest could be the economic growth of the region, for he is the only foreign diplomat who brought Israeli and Palestinian economic ministers together (after a long time) during his visit to Israel and the Palestinian in 2005.

European Union and Environment Change

Britain plays an important role in the structural as well as policy making modules of the European Union (especially under Blair), but the role of Britain under Brown in the EU may change altogether, as Brown would possibly keep himself away in setting Britain at the forefront of European institutional integration. He has been more concerned in practical EU policies than organizational dilemma; hence, we may expect a realistic British approach towards the EU.

Environmental issue as it is the blot on the landscape and as EU is no where close to draw a line on environmental issues, it seems that Brown is going to take a lead in this and that too different from President Bush. This is evident as he supported EU and British targets for carbon reductions and has even appointed the former US Vice President Al Gore as an adviser and action on global warming.

All is said but a lot needs to be done

Though, Brown has boasted of taking decisive steps and has guaranteed 'a decisive break with the Blair era' but the high degree of uncertainty over the enigmatic personality of Brown can not be denied. The rock-hard place where Brown stands right now is just setting the stage to avoid the defeat in the next general election against a revived Conservative Party under David Cameron.

Gordon Brown has offered a 'change' but it remains to be seen if he could provide a good reason to believe that change Britons have made is a promising one.