Among the striking epiphanies of the global economic crisis has been Gordon Brown’s discovery of Europe. In the long, albeit occasionally disrupted, tradition of British prime ministers, Mr Brown’s view of the European Union has hitherto hovered between disdain and contempt. No longer, it seems.
On Tuesday, Mr Brown is speaking to the European parliament. I am told that he accepted with alacrity the invitation to address parliamentarians of the 27 European Union states. Not too long ago he would have done almost anything to avoid the short hop from London to Strasbourg.
During his decade at the Treasury, Mr Brown’s poor attendance at meetings of EU finance ministers was a source of some pride. As far as one can see, the Treasury mandarins remain faithful to a long-held scorn of foreigners in general and Europeans in particular. The prime minister, it seems, has moved on.
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