Britain's new prime minister, Gordon Brown, is not as good a talker, nor as charismatic, as the man he succeeded yesterday, Tony Blair. He has a reputation for being dour and brooding, genial and private - attributes that seem out of step with the economic vibrancy he has endowed his nation with during the decade he has just ended as its finance chief.
Pigeon-holing Mr Brown as the opposite of Mr Blair based on his character would be wrong, though. He is, after all, from the same political party and consequently, shares the same basic ideology. Britain's outlook on the world is not about to dramatically shift, nor is there going to be a shake-up in domestic policies.
The alliance with the United States will remain supreme; China will keep on being the focus of British efforts to become more a part of the globalised economy; troops will stay in Afghanistan and Iraq, although gradually will be pulled out of the latter, as promised by Mr Blair; the nation will continue to be at the forefront of the European fight against global warming and for the most industrialised countries to waive African debt repayments. At home, as always, education and the public health system will be priorities.
Mr Blair's legacy was tainted by his dogged following of US President George W. Bush on the war on terror, to the point that he was lampooned as the American leader's poodle.
He will attempt to make up for this in his new position as the leader of efforts by the so-called Quartet - the United States, European Union, UN and Russia - to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
But while there will be no shift on British foreign policy towards the US, it is in precisely this area where Mr Brown can most make his mark internationally.
In a world dominated by the US, he has to learn to use the word that Mr Blair was so reluctant to utter when dealing with Washington: 'No.' As the leader of Europe's second-biggest economy, he has the power to be the moderating voice that the world so badly needs.