This Saturday evening in Edinburgh, Gordon Brown will add his voice to those of the Make Poverty History marchers who are descending on the city. The chancellor is sure to turn in a vintage performance, full of jaw-jutting evangelical fervour on behalf of the poor of Africa. It will be a welcome escape from troubles that are beginning to pile up closer to home. These have nothing to do with the remarkable recovery in Tony Blair's political fortunes. It is true that a referendum in Britain next year on the European constitution would have virtually ensured Mr Brown's succession either before or just after it. And it is also true that he will now almost certainly have to wait at least two and perhaps as long as three years before he gets the keys to the house next door. But this is not necessarily bad news for Mr Brown. There is something to be said for becoming prime minister later in the parliament-Mr Brown will want to capitalise electorally on a honeymoon period that may well be brief.
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