Feature: Yes, Mr president
‘Brown endorses Obama’ screamed the headlines last month as the prime minister published an article where he suggested that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama had better policies than his Republican rival. Writing in the Parliamentary Monitor magazine he said: “it is the Democrats who are generating the ideas to help people through more difficult times. To help prevent people from losing their home, Barack Obama has proposed a foreclosure prevention fund to increase emergency pre-foreclosure counselling, and help families facing repossession”. Days later, deputy Labour leader and leader of the House of Commons Harriet Harman also lent her support to the Democrats on BBC’s Question Time.
Big deal, you might say – and perhaps it isn’t a big deal, but Brown has broken a long tradition of British political leaders not commenting on the election campaign of their key ally, the Unites States. The Tories immediately criticised Brown, reminding him that the UK has to work with the USA regardless of the political leadership in place either side of the Atlantic. Our ‘special relationship’, as it is called, is based on an almost unconditional friendship between the two countries, and is always boosted by a personal rapport between the president and prime minister of the day. Ever since the Second World War, that bond has helped to shape the world, and the nature of the relationship intimately affects working relations between the two countries. It has been good, bad and ugly, but the special relationship has always endured.
Here are some of the men, and one woman, who have made it happen over the years.
Prime minister Winston Churchill and president Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Special friends from May 1940 to April 1945
Churchill served his first term as British Prime Minister during the dark days of the Second World War from 1940 – 45. FDR, as the president was known, had been in office since 1933, and died just a few months before Churchill was voted out at the end of the war.
Churchill spent months during war criss-crossing the Atlantic for meetings at the White House, and was reportedly overjoyed when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour drew the might of the US military onto the Allies side. These two men, both scions of wealthy, influential families got on famously on a personal level, even though they disagreed on the new world order that developed at the end the conflict.
Relationship rating: Good
Prime minister Anthony Eden and president Dwight Eisenhower
Special friends from April 1955 to January 1957
Ike, as Eisenhower was known, took over the presidency in 1953, and stayed in office until 1961. Eden waited for years for Churchill to retire and took over the top job in 1955. Suffering from ill health and following a disastrous war, he left office less than two years later.
Eisenhower and Churchill were close colleagues during the war and therefore Eden should have been able to continue the relationship. But things unravelled fast after the Franco-British intervention, following Egypt’s nationalisation of the Suez Canal. America did not support the military action, and Eisenhower wrote this to Eden in 1956: “I am afraid, Anthony, that from this point onward our views on this situation diverge.” And diverge they did. The invasion was a catastrophe and Eden left office just 6 months later a broken man.
Relationship rating: Ugly
Prime minister Harold Macmillan and president John F. Kennedy
Special friends from January 1961 to October 1963
Macmillan was a popular prime minister and his term in office from 1957 – 63 coincided with a recovery in Britain’s economic fortunes after the war. JFK came to office in 1961 and was the youngest president ever elected. He was assassinated in November 1963, one month after Macmillan left office.
Kennedy was young, charismatic and represented a new generation of political leaders. Macmillan was older, and symbolised the continuation of old political and social traditions. However, they had a bond that transcended politics as they were related by marriage, and the two men got on very well despite the age gap. Britain was a staunch supporter of America during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis and Kennedy had great respect for “Uncle” Harold as an ally and advisor.
Relationship rating: Good
Prime minister Harold Wilson and president Lyndon Johnson
Special friends from October 1964 to January 1969
Johnson had been Kennedy’s vice-president since 1961. He served the remainder of JFK’s term, won election in his own right in 1964 and stayed in office until 1969. Wilson came to office in late 1964 – one year after JFK was assassinated and served until 1970, with a further brief spell in office from 1974 – 76.
One theme dominated relations between these two: Vietnam. This was the defining legacy of Lyndon Johnson’s term of office, and it bitterly divided America. It also bitterly divided the two men. Wilson’s government supported US policy in Vietnam but refused to send even token British troops to the conflict. Johnson was furious and the relationship never got beyond this disagreement.
Relationship rating: Ugly
Prime minister Jim Callaghan and president Jimmy Carter
Special friends from January 1977 to May 1979
Jim Callaghan took over from Wilson and had a turbulent term as prime minister from 1976 – 79. Carter served just one term between 1977 and 1981 and was the first president to fail at re-election since Herbert Hoover in 1932.
These two had similar politics and a similar manner, both genial and cheerful, but had the grim task of governing their countries throughout a period of global economic turmoil. They established a good working relationship and friendship which was both constructive and informal. So informal, in fact, that they once conducted a negotiation on the future of Britain’s nuclear deterrent on a beach in Guadeloupe with Carter wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks. Both lost elections that ushered in long periods of conservative government, but are remembered fondly by their parties.
Relationship rating: Good
Prime minister Margaret Thatcher and president Ronald Reagan
Special friends from January 1981 to January 1989
Thatcher defeated Callaghan 1979 and ushered in 18 years of Conservative government, staying in office until 1990. Reagan denied Carter his second term and was a popular president throughout the 1980s, serving until 1989.
These two could not have been closer. Both came to office with a pledge to roll back the state and usher in a new era of economic prowess in the countries. Both stood firm against the Soviets in the dying days of the Cold War. Both had long and largely successful spells in office, during which they changed the nature of politics in their countries. Despite their occasional differences, the personal connection of these political soul mates always kept things more than cordial.
Relationship rating: Good
Prime minister John Major and president Bill Clinton
Special friends from January 1993 to May 1997
Major succeeded Thatcher, and held office until his defeat by Tony Blair in 1997. Bill Clinton ended 12 years of Republican rule in 1993 and survived impeachment to serve until 2001.
While Major got on famously with George Bush senior, when Clinton arrived on the scene, he wasn’t sure what to make of him. While they were a similar age, Major was very much a child of the 1940s and 50s. Clinton, however, was definitely a product of the 1960s and the generation gap was stark. They also disagreed on matters of policy, and with Blair waiting in the wings and already a friend of Clinton, Major would never have the chance to get close to this president.
Relationship rating: Bad
Prime minister Tony Blair and president George W Bush
Special friends from January 2001 to June 2007
Bush won a controversial election victory in 2000 and took over from Clinton in 2001, even though Vice-president Al Gore won more votes. Blair came to office in the 1997 Labour landslide and served a record 10 years in office before resigning at a time of his own choosing. Bush will leave office in January 2008.
After Major, Tony Blair and Clinton got on like a house on fire. They were after all very similar in their political vision – the ‘third way’ they brought to London and Washington. Then along came Bush, who he shouldn’t really have liked. Blair sat on the centre-left; Bush sprawled firmly beyond the centre-right. After Clinton left office, he gave Blair some sound advice on his successor. He told him to get close and stay close. Blair followed this to the letter, especially after 9/11, and he and Bush became firm friends. The left in Britain didn’t like Blair getting to close to the neo-conservatives in Washington, but Blair was a superstar stateside due to his dogged support for the Iraq war and the fight against terrorism.
Relationship rating: Good. In fact, a bit too good
So, what does the future hold? While it seems easy to predict that Brown will not be PM after the next election and America will soon have its first black president in Barack Obama, we should take nothing for granted. Here are two scenarios for the next four years:
Prime minister Gordon Brown and president John McCain
Brown does not seem likely to win a fourth term for Labour but he can hang on to office until June 2010 before he has to call an election. McCain is behind Obama in the polls but if he can get the core Republican support out to vote and convince enough independents to support him, he could take office in January 2009.
These two are the underdogs to the shiny new leaders Cameron and Obama. They are significantly older than their opponents, although Brown is nowhere near as old as McCain. They are more experienced, more serious, and allegedly both in possession of a foul temper. Although McCain spoke at the Conservative conference in 2006 and Brown praised Obama’s policies publicly, he may get on well with this war hero who entered elected office in 1983, the same year as Brown.
Prime minister David Cameron and president Barack Obama
Cameron looks likely to be prime minister by 2010 unless there is a substantial reversal in Labour fortunes before then. Obama is odds-on to take office as president in January 2009.
All in all, these two men will find that they have a lot in common. Many of Obama’s policies would not be out of place in modern Conservative party policy document, and Cameron has made no secret of his admiration for the Senator from Illinois. They are children of the 1960s, relatively young, and both had four years in national elected office before they became the leaders of their parties. They are both running against unpopular incumbent parties and are campaigning on a message of change.
Nick Cooper
Nick Cooper is a freelance journalist based in London.
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