The whole truth, please

The Prime Minister’s speech on foreign policy at the Mansion House this week was a classic instance of reassurance rhetoric: his intention to soothe Atlanticists on both sides of the ocean, worried by the studied distance Mr Brown adopted at Camp David in July and the mixed signals sent by his ministerial team. Tribute was paid to ‘the personal leadership of President Bush’ in the search for peace in the Middle East and the American alliance was reaffirmed as ‘our most important bilateral relationship’. Even Tony Blair was rehabilitated for the occasion, with a tribute to his ‘painstaking work’ in the Middle East.

There were more than just warm words for Mr Blair, though. The whole speech could be read as a measured defence and continuation of Blairite foreign policy and the belief that Britain’s security ultimately depends on the spread of its values. Comparing this text to David Cameron’s recent Berlin address rejecting liberal interventionism and pledging to put ‘national security first’, it is clear who — in the field of foreign policy at least — is the true heir to Blair.

The speech showed Mr Brown to be like his old friend and rival in another way, too. As Mr Blair so often did, Mr Brown left both sides with the impression that he agreed with them. The multilateralists were told that ‘the underlying issue for our country — indeed for every country — is how together in this new interdependent world we renew and strengthen our international rules, institutions and networks.’ Those who worry that pledges to reform the United Nations, worthy though they are, hardly match the urgency of the era were reassured that the Prime Minister understood that while ‘resolutions matter, results matter even more’.