British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda face a sea of troubles. Neither looks likely to keep his job long enough to make a significant contribution to solving the problems in Britain or in Japan.
When Brown succeeded Tony Blair last year as prime minister, much was expected of him. While some observers were not impressed by his record as finance minister, his supporters argued that he had brought Britain a decade of economic stability and prosperity. Though criticized as a dour bully with a clunking fist, at least he would be decisive and would not attempt to copy Blair by spinning away problems.
Unfortunately, while he seemed to start his stint as prime minister last summer dealing competently with unprecedented floods, he soon began to flounder and dither. First was the problem of the mortgage lender Northern Rock, which had to be rescued by the Bank of England at a considerable potential cost to taxpayers. This holed his reputation for economic competence.