British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today meets with President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss, amongst other things, the financial crisis. Mr. Brown is the first European head of state to pay a visit to the US for a conference since Mr. Obama’s inauguration.

Mr. Brown realizes that the problem at hand is one of grave importance that must be solved globally, he said, and is certain that the world’s leading nations will endeavor to rectify the situation to the best of their abilities. When Mr. Brown addresses congress on Wednesday he will become the 5th British Prime Minister to do so; on the agenda for the address is the Group of 20 (G20) conference, where the 20 most developed and emerging economies in London on 2 April. The recent recession troubles have indicated a greater need for regulation within the financial sector.

“This is a banking crisis, so we’ve got to go to the roots of it and we’ve got to clean up the banking system. “, Mr. Brown commented. He stressed the importance of international cooperation in the endeavor, and made clear the dependence of its success upon the world’s ability to unite. In his address, Mr. Brown is predicted to liken the current battle against global recession to the fight against Fascism in the Second World War.

“Everyone who’s an international economist is worried about this sort of thing. But everyone who’s a politician knows that people are going to have to take care of their own in a time of crisis. “

Though many (the EU and Canada, by precedent), would dismiss this as over-protectionism in a time of elevated fears, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of combating both national and global issues simultaneously.

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