Allmenn tekst (engelsk)
The incredible shrinking prime minister
Gordon Brown is simultaneously at the peak of his power and bereft of it
But another way to describe his primacy is as loneliness. Some ministers seem happy to remain inconspicuous—and thus disassociated from his travails. Some have begun posturing for a post-election party-leadership struggle.
That is the withering process often suffered by unpopular, moribund governments. In Mr Brown’s case, however—and despite the clout acquired through the bank nationalisations—the routine ebb has been aggravated by the financial crisis. His constant refrain about its global proportions is a useful dodge; but it is also partly true. For most of Labour’s tenure, the government made the political weather. Now, it can only wave an umbrella.
Even in domestic economic policy, the government’s authority has been eroded. In the era of “quantitative easing”, the boundary between monetary and fiscal policy has blurred. Co-operation with the Bank of England is vital. Its occasionally outspoken governor, Mervyn King, has become a pivotal player.
And it isn’t only the bank. Britain’s parliamentary select committees lack the heft and resources of their American counterparts. But the Treasury select committee, in particular, has risen to unwonted prominence. It is the forum that summons forth and interrogates key but elusive figures such as Mr King, government officials and the mythic beasts who used to run the commercial banks. The Treasury itself, Mr Brown’s old fief, has quietly counteracted his urge to stretch Britain’s deficit yet further.
In deeper ways, power was ebbing from Number 10 long before Mr Brown moved in. It has been deferred upwards to the European Union and the World Trade Organisation; shunted down to the devolved government of Scotland, the London mayoralty and the judges; displaced into the internet, and the currency and commodity markets; dispersed around the world as climate change, migration and terrorism have risen in salience. These long-term trends exacerbate the specific emasculations suffered by Mr Brown.
From The Economist print edition, April 2nd 2009
