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Brown flies to Brazil to keep G20 summit on track
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent26 Mar 2009
GORDON Brown today flew to Brazil as he battles to stop his plans for the crunch G20 summit from being derailed.
The Prime Minister will hold talks with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and football legend Pele.
Britain is backing Brazil to join a new G13 group of leading nations, together with India, China, South Africa and Mexico.
As well as seeking support for his proposals to tackle the global recession, Mr Brown will be keen to get Brazil, which is hosting football's 2014 World Cup, to support England's bid for the tournament four years later.
On the third leg of his whistlestop trip, the Prime Minister will also meet business leaders in Brazil before travelling to Chile, having already stopped over in New York and Strasbourg on his 17,500-mile world tour before the London summit on 2 April.
Downing Street sees South American states as key to achieving an agreement at next week's gathering in London that can help revive and reform the global economy.
Mr Brown will be hoping to get his preparations back on track after his visit to New York was marred by fears about the Government's finances and signs of splits between the US and Europe.
The Prime Minister was also forced to play down talk of a rift with the Bank of England after Governor Mervyn King suggested the country may not be able to afford a further fiscal stimulus.
At an event organised by the Wall Street Journal yesterday, Mr Brown insisted they were both committed to doing "whatever was necessary" to revive the economy.
But he also sparked speculation that he was backtracking from more tax cuts and extra spending by emphasising the importance of quantitative easing.
Doubts over the state of the public finances were further heightened when an auction of Government-guaranteed bonds failed for the first time in seven years. The Debt Management Office was selling £1.75 billion of Treasury gilts maturing in 2049, but attracted bids worth just £1.63 billion.
Meanwhile, Czech Prime Minister and EU President Mirek Topolanek lashed out at Mr Brown and President Barack Obama's fiscal stimulus plan and financial bailouts, branding them the "way to hell".
But Mr Brown insisted there was "far more agreement" among world leaders than was being portrayed. Mr Topolanek's spoke soon after his government lost a vote of confidence in the Czech parliament.
Reader views (9)
Use the phone!!! They keep complaining about the carbon footprint and taxpayers money gets wasted on this so use the phone and at best, video conference. That is why it was invented, to keep in touch. Wouldn't take a genius to figure that one out!
If everyone dialled into the G20 summit, it would be so much easier. What thinko's!
- Aria, South London, 26/03/2009 16:54
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Well done Gordon. Now tell those world leaders who are new on the scene, like Obama and Sarkozy, how to get things done in the world economy
- Keith Price, Luton, England, 26/03/2009 15:57
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He seems to be rushing around everywhere desperately trying to find somebody who will take notice of him anyone at all who will support his insane spending spree, the man has completely lost it, I think the reception he got in Europe the other day ( especially Dan Hannan's little speech) says it all really.
- Mark, Suffolk - U.K., 26/03/2009 15:46
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what a grand tour; today Brazil, tomorrow Timbuktu, then Tipperary, followed by pookeepsie. if he can find anywhere else that will keep him from facing the music and grappling with desperate reality, rather than the hot air emanating from pie in the sky he'll add it to his itinerary.
- M.O'Brien, london.uk, 26/03/2009 15:25
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Well there's an awful lot of coffee in Brazil as the song has it. Perhaps Brown will wake up and smell it.
- James Elliott, Eastbourne UK, 26/03/2009 14:56
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Well,gives him a little world tour on our money before he gets the boot.Can't blame him really.
- Steve, London, 26/03/2009 13:28
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I grant you Pele probably knows as much about politics and global economics as more ministers - and certainly Crash - but is this REALLY the time to focus on a 2014 Football World Cup? Is the government completely overrun by imbeciles?
- Marianne, SW France, 26/03/2009 11:52
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This is like the worst joke ever. He cannot even sort this country out! Why would anyone in the world listen to a word he has to say?
- Serox, London, 26/03/2009 11:14
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It seems Brown will do anything and go anywhere rather than face his own electorate.
- Neil, Gloucestershire, England., 26/03/2009 11:10
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