Gordon Brown vs David Cameron

17 June 2006

Irwin Stelzer says that the sharp policy distinctions of the past are no more, but that the choice ahead of the voters is still one to relish. This is his audit of the scores so far

Finally, we come to Britain’s geopolitical position. In addition to deserving credit for keeping Britain euro-free, Brown merits applause for his continuing effort to persuade his European partners that reform, not protectionism, is the route to prosperity in the 21st century. But the reforms he proposes are for other countries to enact — many involve even greater government activity — and all the while taxes in the UK rise to, and in the case of Germany soar above, EU levels. Brown is an admirable apostle of free trade, but his power to bring the French and others along is limited, and his penchant for believing that he can devise governmental interventions to meet global competition is worrying to those who prefer liberating individual entrepreneurship to schemes such as his new proposal for a government-business council to consider what to do about globalisation.

Cameron is as likely as Brown to hunt for ways to extend the scope and depth of the common market, but less prone to want to create new government agencies to meet the challenges Britain must overcome if it is to succeed in what will be a very difficult competitive environment in coming years. And if he does incline to Europe-wide solutions, voters can count on his loony Right — ever on the alert to avoid the debilitating effect of contact with continental Europeans — to call a halt.