Gordon’s American problem

Gordon Brown should be casting nervous glances across the Atlantic because a defeat for Hillary Clinton, which is now the most likely result, would be bad news for him. First, it would remove any chance of Brown getting some easy opportunities to play statesman. A President Hillary would likely have teamed up with Brown on a bunch of popular initiatives on things such as climate change and given Brown the chance to strut the international stage. It is unlikely that Obama, who Brown apparently snubbed last summer, would do as much with the Prime Minister. While John McCain is on the record with high praise for David Cameron and has criticised Brown’s pullback from Iraq. Second, the British political class are obsessed with the US elections and in most people’s minds Hillary Clinton is the Gordon Brown candidate. The failure of her campaign would lead to a slew of articles about how Gordon shares Hillary’s shortcomings.