Gordon Brown has been getting a remarkably good press since he took over as Prime Minister a few short weeks ago and his ongoing trip to America is more of the same. The BBC political editor Nick Robinson wrote a piece on his official blog titled ‘Summit Success’ before the summit even started and the Guardian printed a story based almost entirely on a government press release issued on the plane.

The article is headlined “Brown tries to shift Bush talks to trade and Darfur,” and contains the line;

He [Brown] also singled out Mr Bush’s efforts towards achieving a world trade deal and stopping the genocide in Sudan for praise.

Which is odd considering that the genocide in Darfur lasted for three and a half years or about half of President Bush’s administration, and the world trade deal is on the edge of collapse - largely due to American refusal to give concessions in agricultural talks.

A new deal on World Trade is important but it will involve sacrifices on the part of the developed powers. These will not only benefit the Developing World but will create a better international trading regime that will ultimately benefit everyone.

Tony Blair, whose stature in Washington was as high as any British leader since Churchill, didn’t manage to persuade either President Bush or Congress or this simple truth. Time will tell if Gordon Brown will manage where Mr Blair failed.

From Adam Smith Institute

Tags: Libertarian, Politics, Liberty, Freedom