Brown

London, Sept. 17: At last, we know what to blame for Lehman going belly up: the “curse” of Gordon Brown!

The British Prime Minister has become the butt of jokes since the US investment bank went bankrupt, with foreign papers poking fun that the infamous “Brown jinx” may have been at work again.

According to the “jinx” theory, whatever Brown has a hand in invariably goes kaput and any sportsperson or team he cheers ends up losing. Like Andy Murray did at the 2008 US Open after Brown sent him “our best wishes” or the England football and rugby teams when he went to cheer them on last year.

Extending the “jinx” joke to the Lehman collapse, The New York Times chief financial correspondent Floyd Norris has put out a blog, “At last, we know who to blame”, in which he quotes a colleague Matt Saltmarsh from Europe.

“It must have been Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain who put the hex on Lehman Brothers — at least according to a whimsical email that is circulating the trading desks in the City, as the financial district of London is known.

“Now, traders have found a way to blame Mr Brown for the collapse the Lehman.

“In April 2004, when he was still chancellor of the Exchequer and responsible for the economy, Mr Brown officially opened Lehman Brothers’ European headquarters building in Canary Wharf, in the Docklands area of east London.”

Twisting the knife further, Norris goes on to quote Brown’s speech at the inauguration.

“‘I would like to pay tribute to the contribution you and your company make to the prosperity of Britain,’ Mr Brown said at the time. ‘During its 150-year history, Lehman Brothers has always been an innovator, financing new ideas and inventions before many others even began to realize their potential.

“‘And it is part of the greatness not just of Lehman Brothers but of the City of London that, as the world economy has opened up, you have succeeded not by sheltering your share of a small protected national market but always by striving for a greater and greater share of the growing global market’.”

Norris has signed off by saying: “Bloggers and traders are now joking that Lehman was doomed from that day.”

The Daily Telegraph has followed The New York Times with alacrity, asking: “Gordon Brown’s curse: Did the Prime Minister kill Lehman Bros?

“As if he did not have enough troubles, Gordon Brown is now being accused of killing off Lehman Bros.”

The paper goes on to explain that it wasn’t only “in politics and business” that Brown was said to be a “jinx”.

“In his early months as Prime Minister in 2007, Mr Brown was accused of carrying a sporting curse. In a few weeks, he attended three matches by the England football and rugby teams and the Scottish football side — all lost.”

Sprinkling more salt, it continues: “Earlier this month, after Andy Murray qualified for the final of the US Open, Mr Brown wrote to his fellow Scot to ‘send you our best wishes.’ Murray’s earlier run of form subsequently deserted him and he lost the final in straight sets.”

Even Brown’s official spokesperson has acknowledged suggestions that he brought bad luck, the paper said. “The spokesman told journalists ‘some people had argued that the Prime Minister had not necessarily been the best of omens so far’.”

When Brown attended the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, The Daily Telegraph noted tongue in cheek that “even his usual sporting jinx could not stop Britain’s medal success”.

It added: “His attendance for the last few days led to jokes that his arrival would bring an end to team GB’s Olympic success. On previous occasions, the Prime Minister’s presence at sporting events to watch home teams compete has invariably resulted in defeat.”

Cricket-crazy Indians will be hoping Brown hosts a “good luck send-off party” for Kevin Pietersen’s boys before they set out for India in December.