Today's James Naughtie says Gordon Brown 'is desperate'

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The Prime Minister was due in Brazil today on part of a 17,500-mile global tour which includes New York, Strasbourg and Chile.

In Brazil he is due to meet President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as well as football legend Pele.

"His strategy seems to be to pop up here, there and everywhere, looking like he's in charge," James Naughtie, a presenter on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, told the Washington Post.

He added: "He's in a desperate political situation, so all the recognition, stature and weight is something that might offer him some political assistance.

"It's much easier for him to appear to be a man in charge on the international scene than it is at home.

"He wants to be seen to be taken seriously."