The successor

Part of the public persona is better known. Brown8217;s manner is far from the silver-tongued slickness of Blair. Indeed, Blair has likened his successor to 8220;a great clunking fist8221; of a politician who will lead Labour into battle against the polished Conservative leader, David Cameron.

From his body language, slumped on the benches of Parliament, Brown sometimes seems dour and troubled, at times conspiratorial. Sir Andrew Turnbull, a former senior colleague at the Exchequer, Britain8217;s treasury department, once described Brown8217;s management style as Stalinist. Brown8217;s adversaries depict him as brusque and reclusive. To some, he resembles a dark prince who has waited a decade for his throne only to see his inheritance devalued by an unpopular war in Iraq, hints of economic troubles and a loss of trust in his party.

In many political successions, the new arrival can simply blame the predecessor for an inheritance of woes. But that is not the case here. Since Labour came to power in 1997, Blair and Brown have almost been partners. But their styles are certainly different. Blair is comfortable speaking off the cuff, for instance. As Brown addresses an audience, his hands move constantly to bring any errant pages of his address into line. His critics note that when confronted by trouble, he has a knack for withdrawing out of sightht.

Brown is inheriting a party midway through its third term with its campaign coffers low after a financing scandal, and its membership reduced. Most of the heavyweight Labour politicians who might have challenged Brown have withdrawn from the fray.

In practical terms, Brown8217;s 8220;in8221; box will include, predominantly, the shaping of his foreign policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, where British troops are taking steady losses, and , the decline of Labour Party power, particularly in his Scottish fief, where the separatist Scottish National Party has emerged as the biggest grouping, ending five decades of Labour dominance.

Brown has hinted that he will seek to move away from Blair8217;s militarism in the Muslim world toward a 8220;hearts and minds8221; battle against radical Islam. He is expected to seek a new tone in relations with the US, to escape the jibe that haunted Blair, of being President Bush8217;s 8220;poodle.8221; At home, Brown has made it clear that he will oppose any moves toward Scottish independence from Britain. Perhaps the biggest challenge, some argue, is to restore trust in politicians and to make a break with the past.