In his new book,
Alistair Darling describes Gordon Brown's political style as
"appalling," "volcanic," and "brutal." He should know. The two men sat
together in the cabinet for years while Brown was chancellor. Darling
then served as chancellor himself when Brown finally became prime
minister. Now that Brown is out of office, it seems he has few political
friends left. Still, his successors should erect a statue to him, for
one accomplishment if nothing else: He saved Britain from the euro.
Here's why that makes him a hero.
The story starts back in 1997, when Tony Blair was new to the job of
prime minister. The euro was still three years away from realization,
but already Blair was an enthusiast. Brown was skeptical, but he had a
problem. Political solidarity required him to support the euro in
principle, but his stronger sense of economic reality made him realize
that it was a bad idea for the UK. His solution was to endorse the euro
subject to the following five tests, which together were vague enough
and tough enough that they could never be fully met: >>>READ MORE
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