BRITAIN'S NEW PM: BROWN NOW SERVING...

WHAT DO I CARE?

Basically, about 3 things:

1. That Gordon Brown, who, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, sounded the most committed western decision-maker to the Millennium Development Goals and mainstream so-called "pro-poor" policies, keeps and extends that commitment (ideally by giving more centre stage to African-based concerns increasingly distancing themselves from "Bono-style" charity campaigns...) and effectively stands and delivers on it;

2. That he succeeds at achieving a speedy withdrawal of British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and wisely guides Blair on his new role as putative Middle East peace broker (also hoping that he manages to get Alan Johnston out of there alive);

3. That he manages to put an halt to what emerged in the last few years of New Labour's government as new "facts of life" in Britain, e.g. gun and knife crime and what seems a general deterioration of council services everywhere, particularly bearing in mind that he was the man responsible for increasing council tax to the unprecedented levels witnessed in the last decade.

That said, I wish him the best of luck in, as he promised today in his inauguration speech, "trying (his) utmost" in "the work of change"!

WHAT DO I CARE?

Basically, about 3 things:

1. That Gordon Brown, who, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, sounded the most committed western decision-maker to the Millennium Development Goals and mainstream so-called "pro-poor" policies, keeps and extends that commitment (ideally by giving more centre stage to African-based concerns increasingly distancing themselves from "Bono-style" charity campaigns...) and effectively stands and delivers on it;

2. That he succeeds at achieving a speedy withdrawal of British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and wisely guides Blair on his new role as putative Middle East peace broker (also hoping that he manages to get Alan Johnston out of there alive);

3. That he manages to put an halt to what emerged in the last few years of New Labour's government as new "facts of life" in Britain, e.g. gun and knife crime and what seems a general deterioration of council services everywhere, particularly bearing in mind that he was the man responsible for increasing council tax to the unprecedented levels witnessed in the last decade.

That said, I wish him the best of luck in, as he promised today in his inauguration speech, "trying (his) utmost" in "the work of change"!