LONDON -- A transformation has taken place on the British political scene, and it is one that could have profound effects on the wider European landscape as well as on trans-Atlantic relations. The nature of this change can be summed up in two words -- Michael Howard. This is the man who has now emerged at the head of the British Conservative Party, carrying immense authority and raising the hopes of his followers that he could well lead them back into government before long.

The very manner of his emergence is significant. Whereas most of the expert political commentators were full of dire predictions that the Conservative Party was doomed to perpetual opposition, with its most prominent characters locked in internecine and unending struggle for the leadership, in practice things turned out quite differently.

Once the outgoing leader Iain Duncan Smith had been toppled, all rivals swiftly stood aside, leaving a clear and uncontested path for Howard, the 62-year-old lawyer and former senior minister, to take command. Instead of months of political infighting, it was settled within 48 hours.