Jonah Meets the Messiah

Commentary on Brown’s visit to the US has chewed up the column inches in the MSM as well as the blogosphere these last few days, even The Economist’s Bagehot felt compelled to comment on what has been widely perceived as a snub to the British PM. In his eyes, this was no snub and Downing Street should be pleased with the outcome. Whether or not that is the case, Britain at large thinks otherwise.

One reader on Conservative Home yesterday left a comment to the effect that he may be an idiot, but he’s our idiot, and this was no way to treat the Prime Minister. You salute the rank, not the man, after all. Tim Montgomerie tweeted to the same effect today – whatever glee Brown’s opponents may be enjoying at seeing Jonah Brown embarrassed, we must remember that he is there as a representative of Britain; how he is treated might very well be interpreted as a manifestation of the Obama administration’s attitude towards Britain.

Iain Martin of the Telegraph takes this perspective – that he’s the Prime Minister of the nation with whom the US have a so-called ‘special relationship’. That relationship has been the subject of much analysis lately. Just how ‘special’ is it? Do we presume we are equal partners? I suspect that we’ve always been aware that we are the lesser player and are occasionally treated as such, but that does not mean that we expect our PM to be sidelined on a state visit.

Brown, however, has done little to engender warm feelings towards him from the White House, let alone the US as a whole. His grandstanding leaves one thinking of an empty vessel, and surely his repeated mantra (this is not a British problem, it started in America) has not gone unnoticed. His determination to pin his flickering bulb to Obama’s popular rising star has made him appear desperate.

Perhaps it is simply because Obama knows that Brown is unpopular at home, and doesn’t expect to have to put up with him for long. Perhaps he is trying to distance himself from all the Presidents before him who embraced the ‘special relationship’. Perhaps he had no desire to listen to a failure dictate economic policy. Whatever the reasons, I hope the next time a Prime Minister of Great Britain gets on a flight to Washington, he is received with the respect that should be accorded to one of the only nations who has stuck by the US when few others would. We share a history, and the Obama administration would do well to remember that.

That won’t stop me chuckling quietly; it may be rude, but Gordon Brown deserved no less. While I may take perverse enjoyment out of knowing Downing St had to beg for time with Obama, I am disappointed; the Prime Minister deserved more.

Alex Salmond has been off pressing the flesh with Madame Clinton in Washington, and amidst his comments on growing the relationship between the US and Scotland (or North Englandshire), he managed to start rambling on about the economy. The most frightening part of his wittering was when he commented that:

“...and in particular I will make the case for Scotland to have the same ability to borrow as other nations... in order to do our bit to inject demand and confidence into the economy.”

To borrow from the esteemed Stephen Fry: O.M arse-mothering G. You wish to allow a bunch of jumped up local councillors the chance to put Scotland into debt? Good grief, these are the people who turned a £40m project into £400m! After the fiasco building the parliament building, you would expect us to trust you with borrowing... Give me strength...

While Wee Eck is possessed of a quick and witty mind, he is not rational. He believes Scotland can and should be independent – ipso facto he is not rational, because rational thought would lead to the conclusion that we benefit more from the Union than we lose. Fiscally, politically, internationally, socially, we benefit from being part of the United Kingdom.

I enjoyed a primary school education in Scotland and a secondary education in England. I have been brought up to feel a part of Britain. I am neither Scottish, nor English, but both – I am British. The idea of a separate Scotland does not sit well with me, and I don’t want to have to choose between the two.

In this case I can only say that I think it is a good thing that he is incredibly unlikely to get his way. Borrowing to boost demand is a short-term measure that fails to address the root cause of the problem – which (to be overly simplistic) was too much borrowing.

Get your SNP/Lib Dem coalition in Edinburgh Council to sort out the trams on budget and on schedule, then maybe we’ll sit down and have a chat, okay?