On the surface, unexpected U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris and newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer may appear to have little in common.
He’s a buttoned-down technocrat, more famous for his caution and quiet ruthlessness than for his rhetorical skills. Harris, meanwhile, is becoming known for a energetic campaign style mixing high politics and celebrity.
In less than a month since replacing Joe Biden as the prospective Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency, Harris has earned a status as a burgeoning Gen Z icon, thanks to a groundswell of Charli XCX-inspired memes.
Starmer, in contrast, is far less down with the kids, even being forced to deny he was a “political robot” during the election campaign.
But given Starmer’s overwhelming success in the U.K.’s July 4 election, when his Labour Party thrashed the right-of-center Conservatives in a landslide, Democrats, who face a closely run fight to see off the threat from Donald Trump, are paying close attention.
Sister parties
Labour, the Democrats’ unofficial sister party, is glad to oblige — not least to curry favor with politicians likely to serve inside a future Harris White House.