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A Scottish [[Labour Party|Labour]] politician, Brown served as Britain's [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] for ten years. His mutual enmity with former Prime Minister Blair was a consistent feature of British political life for a number of years.

A Scottish [[Labour Party|Labour]] politician, Brown served as Britain's [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] for ten years. His mutual enmity with former Prime Minister Blair was a consistent feature of British political life for a number of years.

In Britain, Brown is seen as being a more sombre, sober and serious figure in contrast to Tony Blair, who is regarded as charismatic and has at times been perceived as lightweight and as an overly "slick" media performer (not unlike [[Bill Clinton]]). This resonates with a stereotype that many English people have of Scottish people being humorless and dour. Brown's father was a Minister in the [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] [[Church of Scotland]], and it is thought that Brown's religious beliefs have influenced his serious, sober style. On the negative side, some believe that he is insufficiently likeable and sunny to appeal to voters. He has also been criticized for secretiveness, control-freakery and an awkward personal style.

In Britain, Brown is seen as being a more sombre, sober and serious figure in contrast to Tony Blair, who is regarded as charismatic and has at times been perceived as lightweight and as an overly "slick" media performer (not unlike [[Bill Clinton]]). This resonates with a stereotype that many English people have of Scottish people being humorless and dour. Brown's father was a Minister in the [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] [[Church of Scotland]], and it is thought that Brown's religious beliefs have influenced his serious, sober style. On the negative side, some believe that he is insufficiently likeable and sunny to appeal to voters. He has also been criticized for secretiveness, control-freakery and an awkward personal style. However, his communication skills, especially reading from autocues and being interviewed under bright lights in television students, may be adversely affected by the fact that his eyesight is extremely poor. He is blind in one eye and his vision in the other is weak, owing to a sporting injury sustained when he was a teenager.

Brown was one of the longest serving Chancellors in history, and took credit for the consistently healthy state of the British economy during his tenure - credit which many are reassessing in light of the current (as of October 2008) perilous condition of the British economy. He is a passionate advocate of reducing poverty in the [[Third World]]. He has made speeches in which he has praised the concept of "Britishness" and suggested that the British should display the British flag outside their houses, as many Americans do with the US flag. However, his patriotic convictions are expected to have consequences in foreign policy which are arguably negative: it is widely believed that he will be zealous in defending British interests (narrowly defined), but that he will neglect broader elements of Tony Blair's foreign policy such as support for the United States and the [[War on Terror]].

Brown was one of the longest serving Chancellors in history, and took credit for the consistently healthy state of the British economy during his tenure - credit which many are reassessing in light of the current (as of October 2008) perilous condition of the British economy. He is a passionate advocate of reducing poverty in the [[Third World]]. He has made speeches in which he has praised the concept of "Britishness" and suggested that the British should display the British flag outside their houses, as many Americans do with the US flag. However, his patriotic convictions are expected to have consequences in foreign policy which are arguably negative: it is widely believed that he will be zealous in defending British interests (narrowly defined), but that he will neglect broader elements of Tony Blair's foreign policy such as support for the United States and the [[War on Terror]].