What Europe's New Leaders Could Do

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Britain and France, in other words, have plenty of work to do to get their economic houses in order. And so it's fortunate that Brown and Sarkozy have shown a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom and party ideology. With his talk about positive discrimination and the importance of work, Sarkozy breaks the mold of French politics. Brown too has taken his swipes at hallowed British beliefs. In a 2003 speech in which he outlined his ideas for prosperity and social reform, he sought to identify where markets work, how they can be made to work better and where they have no role all. The ultimate aim, he said, was "to advance the case for a renewed and reformed public realm for the coming decades." They were remarks Sarkozy could have made.

So what will the emergence of Europe's new boys mean for rest of the world? Both men are largely untested novices in foreign policy. Brown has made some initial forays onto the world stage in his capacity as Chancellor, helping launch a global initiative on debt relief for poor African countries. He inherits a messy situation with British troops in Iraq and lacks both Blair's profile in the U.S. and the personal relationship with Bush that Blair nurtured. That could make for some tense moments. Britain has announced plans to withdraw 1,600 of its 7,700 troops from Iraq this year, with the rest to leave in 2008. That's a pledge Brown is likely to stick to, given the disdain for the war among the Labour Party's rank and file. Brown told TIME that "there will be no sense in which we seek to walk away from decisions we made" but that "there are lessons that we've got to learn" from the allies' misadventure in Iraq.

That may indicate an unwillingness to sign up for possible military action against Iran if the West's dispute with Tehran over its nuclear program fails to bend to a diplomatic solution. Sarkozy too would hesitate about attacking Iran. And yet so far, the U.S., Britain and France have remained united on the need to maintain diplomatic and financial pressure on Iran--which Western policymakers quietly believe is having an impact on the regime's behavior. That could provide a basis for cooperation between the U.S. and Europe on other issues. Although he's unlikely to jettison France's combative and historic love-hate relationship, Sarkozy isn't afraid to say that he admires the U.S. That marks a sharp break with Chirac, who often couched his policies as a counterweight to U.S. influence and frequently called for a "multipolar world" that would dilute American power. But Sarkozy and Brown have provided hints that they intend to push Washington to pay more attention to issues beyond the Middle East, such as Third World development and global warming. In his victory speech, Sarkozy addressed "our American friends" and said, "I want to tell them that France will always be at their side when they need her. But I also want to say that friendship means accepting that friends can think differently and that a great nation like the U.S. has the duty not to impose obstacles to the fight against climate change."

Persuading the current U.S. Administration to take more dramatic action on the environment may turn out to be an even more formidable task than curbing unemployment or reforming social services. But if the arrival of Sarkozy and Brown leads to closer cooperation on global issues between the U.S.'s two oldest European allies, then Washington will benefit in the long run. The world tends to be a more agreeable place when your friends get along. [This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine.] How They Measure Up

BROWN SARKOZY 56 AGE 52 Ph.D., University of Edinburgh EDUCATION Law degree, University of Paris, Nanterre One MARRIAGES Two Two sons CHILDREN Three sons Labour PARTY Gaullist Debt relief PET ISSUE Immigration Cape Cod, Mass. VACATION SPOT French Atlantic Coast