Two Nations Divided

First described as 'special' by Winston Churchill in his 'Iron Curtain' speech of 1946, the relationship between the leaders of the United States and Great Britain has been changing over the last year. The warm bond between George W. Bush and Tony Blair has been replaced by the distinctly cooler interactions of Barack Obama and Gordon Brown, starting last year with a profoundly over-analyzed exchange of gifts upon Obama's assumption of his presidential duties. The Prime Minister brought a hand-carved pen fashioned from the timbers of a sunken slave ship, and the President brought a set of 25 DVDs.

This, despite the British press' best efforts to whip up a storm of controversy, was a non-event, as was the removal of the Churchill bust from the Oval Office, a decorative piece loaned to Bush a number of years ago. As respected a statesman as Churchill is (and I do have a soft spot for the old soak myself, if not just for his quotability), I wouldn't want his craggy countenance casting its admonishing squint in my direction every moment of every working day.

With the UK General Election officially called and due to take place on May 6, the relationship looks set to continue long the same path. David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party and according to some polls likely to be the next PM, spoke recently of the imbalance of power in the US/UK partnership and called for a change in focus, calling Great Britain the "junior partner" of the US and saying that what is needed for the UK now and in the future is more attention paid to domestic issues, and less time spent on trying to be the global BFF of the EU and the United States.

To a casual observer, this might seem to be transparent and cynical electioneering, capitalizing on a widespread feeling in Britain that her leaders are more like absentee landlords than public servants. The deeply unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, increasingly hostile feelings towards the EU (compounded by the recent difficulties with the Greek economy), immigration policy that on the surface appears to be without any kind of oversight and myriad other issues are resulting in an electorate who feels those who are supposed to be working in their best interests are more preoccupied with currying favor on the international stage.

This cooling of affection between the two countries is not without precedent, however; after the ideological and personal love-fest that was the Thatcher/Reagan relationship, there was marked reservation of warmth during the Major/Clinton years, only to be followed by the resumption of moisture and fuzziness between Bush and Blair. With interests and worldview still so closely aligned despite the call for a shift in priorities, one can't see the US and UK de-friending each other any time soon.