2004 might not only see the end of the Bush presidency but also, equally satisfying, the political end of Tony Blair. And the potential successors are already strengthening ties.
According to today's Independent
(link), Chancellor of Exchequer Gordon Brown and John Kerry had a series of secret meetings in the last weeks:
"John Kerry, the frontrunner to challenge George Bush for the US presidency this autumn, has held a series of private meetings with Gordon Brown. The Senator set to win the Democratic nomination has links with the Chancellor stretching back over a decade.
Mr Kerry once even offered to send a private plane to ferry the Chancellor to a meeting with him in the US, The Independent on Sunday has learnt. Friends of Mr Brown last night admitted that the close relationship between the pair was likely to discomfort Downing Street.
"Having a British cabinet minister close to the main challenger to a US President is potentially a bit embarrassing," said one."
What do you make out of it? Will we see Blair supporting Bush and Brown supporting Kerry? That would be a quite funny new dimension of the so called "special relationship".