3:AM Magazine

By Naheed Ali.

British foreign policies were never in full view of the general public to begin with, so therefore any change that Mr. Brown promises are going to be viewed the same way they were regarded during the Tony Blair Era. So as Blair goes for a stroll and forgets to close the doors behind him, Brown will continue to see the skim window of opportunity to be taken advantage of without even considering what the international stage has to offer.

Blatantly landing on the position of Prime Minister of England, he frantically looks for ways to convince the people of the world that somehow he can help solve British Labor problems just by establishing a new spot in the limelight. Will he motion to keep the same ideas and policies that Blair had used for the last decade? Sure. Brown will be keen enough to notice that evident change is difficult to forecast to the British people regardless of his widely publicized embrace by Parliament.

Supporters need to realize that both Blair and Bush are lame duck leaders (Blair, subconsciously) so regardless of what Brown has on agenda Britons should seek the new and pass off the old. One such proposal, as well as an initial step for Brown would be to grab the attention of lobbyists encased in current issues such as Darfur and Baghdad.

Mr Brown’s power grasp will lead to concern regarding failures of prime ministers of the past, as well as apprehension for future agendas brought to the political table. For example, Blair’s unstable position on the Iraq War may correlate to London’s transatlantic link and loyalty towards Washington during the 1990 British economic disaster. Britain experienced an international “ego crisis” at the time, as well as some confusion on preventing political and economic mishaps in the future.

Moreover, parliamentarians are currently worrying about Brown’s platform with the international community as Iraq worsens; they see no end to Britain’s involvement in the conflict despite Blair’s last-minute popularity gain before his official resignation.

UK-US relations will remain intact with the new man in charge at 10 Downing Street. The first and obvious reason is that Blair has not only engorged in the process of transferring provisional power to Brown, but has also left a bucketful of decade-long international ideas that have never gained public support for as long as he has been in office. Mr Blair did not specifically state he is leaving because of the dull stance Britain takes on US issues such as the Iraq War. In parallel, his parliament is keeping a low profile in UK-US affairs to match the anti-war pulsation of British lobbyists and commentators.

The economic relationship between the two nations will continue to be strengthened by public and private sector borrowing. The UK is one of our largest exporters as well as a large source of tourism due to our historical link with England. Moreover, Blair has expressed loyalty to America through specific economic policies. His take on trade liberalization for example, clears the stage for Britain and other European nations to have greater domestic involvement and thus favoring US interests in the European Union.

With all that in mind, the “Blair Saga” will continue to impact the US politically and economically despite the end of a decade-long era.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Naheed Ali is an aspiring columnist and occasional contributor to various literary establishments worldwide. He is currently in his final year of pursuing a medical degree (MD).

First published in 3:AM Magazine: Monday, September 15th, 2008.