LONDON -- Britain is governed by an unhappy couple -- a pair of men whose relationship excites more attention than any other aspect of British politics.
Yes, the relationship between Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown sells books (several), at least one TV drama and newspapers (miles of columns, acres of cartoons), while key aspects of our constitution, such as the actual relationship with the European Union, languish in the dark undergrowth of ignorance.
Pairs of men have had mythical importance since the beginning of storytelling: in the West, from Cain and Abel or Romulus and Remus to, a couple of millennia later, cinema's "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" or "Jules et Jim." Whether it's murderous rivalry or enduring love, the intense relationship between two men seems to be the best story in many cultures. So whatever is actually happening in British government, it's that interplay between Blair and Brown that excites the most attention.