The Special Relationship? Brown meets Bush
The difference in style was obvious: Gone were the chinos and unbuttoned shirt of Tony Blair’s first meeting with President Bush at Camp David, in their place a suit and tie that spoke more of business-like cooperation than personal affinity. In their press conference, Gordon Brown addressed George Bush repeatedly as Mr. President, even as Mr. Bush referred to him as Gordon. And perhaps we’ll never know if the two leaders share the same brand of toothpaste.*
Was this evidence of a new British attitude to relations with the United States? In terms of appearance: yes. But that doesn’t mean that the U.K. is turning away from Washington. Instead, it is indicative of the fact that the British Prime Minister has, in his dealings with the U.S., an image problem to consider.
Mr. Brown’s predecessor, Tony Blair, had believed that, in a world where the U.S. is the only genuine global superpower, Britain’s interests were best served by being a faithful public ally to the U.S., using influence privately to advance British views. His reasoning was, in many ways, sound: The U.S. would, like any other country, act in its own interests, and certainly not against them simply because of vocal complaints. Moreover, he felt he was more likely to influence how the U.S. saw its interests if he was a constructive and helpful partner, confining his criticism to private talks.
Ultimately, however, Mr. Blair could not sell this argument politically. If he wasn’t going to be a public critic, it followed that he couldn’t easily claim credit when his influence had paid dividends. And as the smaller partner, it was easy then to become seen as the lapdog, however lazy – and wrong – a characterization that is (if you think Tony Blair was dragged by President Bush, against his wishes, into the invasion of Iraq, you really don’t understand Tony Blair). For many in the governing Labour party, the image of faithful ally might have been acceptable with Bill Clinton in the White House – but it wasn’t with George Bush. And as the Economist argued last year, it certainly wasn’t acceptable when it also, necessarily, implied being an uncritical ally of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. For Blair, the relationship became politically poisonous; for many in his party, it was beyond the pale.
Gordon Brown knows all of this. Yet while Mr. Brown may have struck a very different pose to Mr. Blair at Camp David, he also knows that the basic facts of global power have not changed. The U.K. is an important player on the world stage, but the U.S. is still the most important global power – Mr. Brown seems to recognize that, if Britain wants to project its influence globally, it simply makes no sense to walk away from its close relationship with the U.S. Instead, he has been quick to stress the importance he attaches to the link, re-affirming that the U.S. remains Britain’s “single-most important bilateral relationship”. Of course, there will remain differences between the two countries, in tone, emphasis and policy - but the relationship will be made to work.
Neither does Mr. Brown dislike America. On the contrary, he often looks to the U.S. for policy ideas, admires America’s economic dynamism, and draws regularly on the political ideas and rhetoric of figures such as Kennedy. And as my colleague Ron Asmus pointed out recently, the ascendancy of Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy in Germany and France, both committed to improving their countries’ bilateral relations with the U.S., is hardly likely to encourage Brown in the opposite direction.
Nonetheless, Mr. Brown does have to consider how his relationship with Mr. Bush is perceived, and distinguish himself from his predecessor. The Bush Administration appear sensitive to that, and perhaps understand that they an interest in helping him – a task which may become harder if Mr. Brown begins an accelerated draw-down of British troops in Iraq later this year. But both sides will gain in the long run if Mr. Brown is seen as a more independent figure. The U.S. will not gain from another British Prime Minister seen as a faithful puppy.
Talking about suits, ties and Colgate toothpaste may seem superficial. But image and perceptions of this relationship matter – just ask Tony Blair.
* At the first Camp David meeting between President Bush and Tony Blair, Mr. Bush responded to a question of what the two leaders had in common: “Well, we both use Colgate toothpaste.”