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Brown's Experience Gives Him the Edge
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Politically, the financial crisis has begun to restore Brown's approval ratings, which had fallen into the teens in recent months as his leadership was widely panned as lackluster and unfocused.
A YouGov poll published in the Sunday Times newspaper showed that 31 percent of respondents said Brown was doing "fairly well" or "very well." While 65 percent still said Brown was doing "fairly badly" or "very badly," the poll showed a marked improvement in the public view of the prime minister.
The poll also showed that Brown's Labor Party was just 10 points behind the rival Conservative Party in voting intentions -- almost halved from the 19-point deficit a month earlier.
Several Britons interviewed on the streets of London on Monday said they were proud of Brown's growing global stature.
"I'm honored as an Englishman that Brown is representing the U.K. in the right way," said Amar Malik, 31, who works in an import-export business. "He has stood up, he has the right voice."
Angela Fritz, 62, a retired BBC producer, said she was "delighted with Brown's authoritative assessment of the global economy. It's terrific to see Britain step up to the plate."
But Seldon, the historian, predicted that Brown's rising popularity will not last for long.
"It will fade away," he said. "It will not have a heavy, long-term impact. The crisis will pass and the underlying trend lines will come back into play. People will remember that they are tired of him."
Correspondent Edward Cody in Paris and special correspondents Karla Adam in London and Shannon Smiley in Berlin contributed to this report.
