Gordon Brown endorses ÔÇ£special relationshipÔÇØ with US

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Prime Minister Gordon Brown became only the fifth British Prime Minister to address both US Houses of Congress yesterday, delivering a stirring speech full of praise for the ÔÇ£special relationshipÔÇØ between the two countries, while also urging the United States not to retreat into protectionism.   Following in the footsteps of Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, the Prime Minister earned 17 standing ovations during a speech that was almost ingratiating at times in its praise for the ÔÇ£American spirit.ÔÇØ He described the relationship between the UK and the US as ÔÇ£a partnership of purposeÔÇØ which was ÔÇ£unbreakable,ÔÇØ affirming that ÔÇ£there is no power on earth that can drive us apart.ÔÇØ   On the global financial crisis, Brown said that ÔÇ£an economic hurricane has swept the world, creating a crisis of credit and of confidence.ÔÇØ   Referring to the financial sector, he said: ÔÇ£We have learned through this world downturn that markets should be free but never values-free, that the risks people take should never be separated from the responsibilities they meet,ÔÇØ before pausing for one of the standing ovations.   In the global economy, he pointed out, ÔÇ£today's financial institutions are so interwoven that a bad bank anywhere is a threat to good banks everywhere,ÔÇØ using this as the link to his warning against protectionism.   Calling for all countries of the world to work together (but clearly implying that the United States must join the UK in taking the lead) he said: ÔÇ£Let us agree rules and standards for accountability, transparency, and reward that will mean an end to the excesses and will apply to every bank, everywhere, and all the time.ÔÇØ   The burden must be shared globally, he said, ÔÇ£so let us work together for the worldwide reduction of interest rates and a scale of stimulus round the world equal to the depth of the recession and the dimensions of the recovery we must make.   ÔÇ£Let us restore prosperity and protect this planet and, with faith in the future, let us together build tomorrow today,ÔÇØ he concluded.   Opposition party leaders in the UK were critical of the speech for lacking any detail about the action required to achieve the Prime MinisterÔÇÖs lofty goals, but in truth, this speech could not be expected to be anything but a rallying call.   Barack ObamaÔÇÖs presidency is too young to expect him to jump into bed with the UK before having sounded out opinion from elsewhere in Europe and further afield. The President himself commented after the Prime MinisterÔÇÖs speech that the US had ÔÇ£only just begun to engage with the ideas that are coming from Gordon Brown, let alone agree to them.ÔÇØ   There is time for detail at the forthcoming G20 meeting in London on 2 April, and subsequent international summits, but the Prime ministerÔÇÖs very presence on Capitol Hill yesterday was a hugely positive sign, and his speech, as rallying cries go, was nothing short of perfect in its scope and delivery.   *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *