Amid continued speculation about the likely chemistry (or lack of it) between the two, and their differences on religion and other issues, the announcement was made today that new UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown will meet US President George W. Bush for the first time since he (Brown) came to power.
A White House spokesperson said that topics for discussion were likely to include the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, in which both Britain and the USA are deeply implicated.
Other likely subjects for concern include Darfur and Kosovo, the spokesperson added.
Global warming would be a concern for Brown and flood-hit Britain, but Bush the oilman may be keener to avoid it, given his track record.
The meeting between Gordon Brown and George Bush will take place this coming Sunday and Monday (29-30 July 2007) in the PM’s first trip to Washington DC since taking over from Tony Blair.
Downing Street said Mr Brown will “have meetings with President Bush and his team at Camp David and he will be travelling from there to New York”.
Bush and Blair struck a strong shared patriotic chord, with what some commentators have described as “messianic overtones”.
Gordon Brown is also a person of Christian faith, but is unlikely to wish to be drawn into theological issues with the President.
Brown’s own personal advisors include Jim Wallis, the progressive social activist on the left of the evangelical movement in the USA, and British Chief Rabbi and fellow intellectual Jonathan Sacks.