Gordon Brown's grin and tonic for the world's economy

GORDON BROWN evoked the spirit of the Second World War today as he set off for his first talks at the White House with Barack Obama.

The Prime Minister aimed to rekindle the "special relationship" on a new economic agenda, while making his most optimistic comments in months about the prospects for prosperity.

"What I want to talk about is the renewal of our relationship for new times," he said before leaving for Washington.

"This is clearly a different world from 50 years ago. But if you have a global problem you need global solutions. Past prime ministers have gone in times of war to talk about war. I'm going to talk about how we can work together at climate change, the economy and security for the future."

Mr Brown lavished praise on President Obama, telling talkSport radio: "You cannot but be impressed by his demeanour, his determination, not just his fluency, but his sympathy for the causes he represents." Mr Brown will use their talks and a keynote speech to Congress to rally support for a global action plan at the G20 summit in London next month to stimulate the world economy and guard against future instability.

He insisted that despite the current gloom Britain had "a great future". He went on: "We should be confident. We are going through a global financial crisis, a banking crisis, but we can come through this with the right measures.

"People should be confident that once we get through these difficulties we are in a position to sell to the world and be prosperous."

Success in America for Mr Brown would enable him to revive his claim to be the driving force behind global co-operation to beat the threat of deflation, possibly even recovering some of the "Brown bounce" in the polls that followed his initial banking rescue scheme in the autumn.

He also aims to be seen standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Mr Obama on the need for developed countries to boost their economies with spending and tax cuts - paving a path for another economic stimulus package in Alistair Darling's second Budget next month.

Although the Conservatives have warned against soaring borrowing, Mr Brown may point out that Britain's current £20billion stimulus is modest compared with the £550billion package being pushed forward by Mr Obama.

Tomorrow's talks are the result of months of effort by UK diplomats to ensure Mr Brown is seen to have clout with America's new president.

Washington responded by rolling out the red carpet, choosing Mr Brown to be the first European leader to meet Mr Obama at the White House.

For the President it is one of his first opportunities to show off his international approach, having so far focused on domestic issues.