Brown may be in running for top job at IMF

The chancellor Gordon Brown could be in line to take over as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according reports in the Guardian newspaper today.

According to the Guardian, sources in Washington place Mr Brown – Britain's longest-serving chancellor – as the frontrunner to succeed Horst Koehler, who has aspirations to succeed Johannes Rau as German president.

However, the reports have been dismissed by Downing Street and treasury officials today as "speculation".

If Mr Brown were to make the move to Washington, it would represent the final nail in the coffin of a deal that has passed in political folklore – when Tony and Gordon met at the Granita restaurant in the wake of John Smith's death in 1994. The deal would have seen Mr Blair hand over to Mr Brown after Labour won their 1997 election.

The relationship between Blair and Brown – one of the most significant in British political history – has soured, and the two communicate their dissatisfaction for the other through pliable backbenchers and favoured media commentators.

With the Iraq war debate persisting, and public service reform, educational reforms and European integration continuing but unresolved, it would seem unlikely that there could be any handover soon.

Last week, Peter Foster, the former boyfriend of Mrs Blair's one-time close confidante and lifestyle guru Carole Caplin has claimed that Mr Blair would quit before the end of this year. However, the Prime Minister was quick to let it be known that he intended to lead Labour into the 2005 general election.

This may prove the decisive factor for Gordon Brown. Having survived at Number 11 for seven years, during war and economic global downturn, and demonstrated a social democratic and business-friendly approach, he would appear to be a suitably qualified candidate. And given his experience and Mr Blair's determination to lead Britain, Mr Brown may yet welcome the possibility of being vaulted into an honourable exit from domestic politics.

(gmcg)