British Prime Minister Gordon Brown brushed aside suggestions today that the popularity boost he has gained from his handling of the financial crisis might tempt him to call a snap general election.
"I'm getting on with the job of trying to take us through these difficult times and that's the only thing that's in my mind. It's got my undivided attention and the whole attention of the government," Mr Brown told a news conference after a European Union summit when asked if he was tempted to go to the polls.
Mr Brown has won acclaim abroad and a lift to his battered popularity at home for his sweeping plans to combat the global credit crunch that brought the banking system to the verge of collapse.
Mr Brown, who succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister in June last year after 10 years as finance minister, has endured a difficult few months since he appeared to back away from calling an early election last year.
His initial popularity soon faded as the economic outlook darkened, with voters feeling the pinch from rising food and energy prices and falling house prices.
The opposition Conservatives opened a 20-point lead, prompting calls from within his Labour Party for a leadership challenge. But Mr Brown's performance in tackling the financial crisis has silenced such talk and halved the Conservative lead.
However, the Conservatives remain on course to win the next general election which Mr Brown must call by mid-2010.
Some commentators, such as American economist Irwin Stelzer in the latest edition of the conservative Spectator magazine, suggest Mr Brown might call an early election before a widely-forecast recession takes hold.
Mr Brown has appeared in his element as he has taken a leading role in the international response to the financial crisis.
Voters have taken comfort in Brown's expertise in financial matters while the Conservatives have toned down their criticisms at what is seen as a time of national emergency.
The United States and other European countries have copied elements of Mr Brown's plans to use tens of billions of dollars of taxpayers' money to inject new capital into British banks and free up clogged lending.
He was a prominent figure at the EU summit in Brussels where he presented his ideas for a longer-term response to the credit crisis, including a shakeup of the global financial institutions that have existed since World War Two.
However, political commentators say the boost to Mr Brown's popularity with voters could be short-lived once recession hits the British economy, which is already seeing a sharp rise in unemployment.
Reuters