First stop Brussels, then the world, for rejuvenated Prime Minister

Over the summer, politicians couldn't sell shares in Gordon Brown quickly enough: now he has a mission to save the world economy and the Labour Party's fortunes while he's at it.

The Prime Minister headed off early this morning to a summit of EU leaders in Brussels with the aim of persuading them to use a British-style part-nationalisation of the banks to rebuild confidence in the continent's battered financial markets. It is, according to one EU official, the Prime Minister's "magic formula".

They don't much like Brown in Brussels - as Chancellor he had a habit of lecturing other finance ministers on their failings – but they appear to respect him now.

Brown has also been instinctively wary of the EU, passionately opposing membership of the euro while Tony Blair was pushing to join the single currency and notoriously turning up late to sign the Lisbon Treaty last year. Now he's catching the early train and acting as if he's first among the EU's supposed equals.

Next stop the world? Brown has already said he wants to build a new global "financial architecture" along the lines of the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944 which restructed the international economy. No prizes for guessing who the architect would be.

More immediately he has taken the surprise decision to pay a campaigning visit to the Glenrothes by-election. It is very rare for PMs to pound the streets in by-elections, with party managers claiming there is a convention they stay away. A convention, yes, but no firm rule exists.

The Scottish National Party still looks likely to capture the seat on November 6, but Labour MPs report a change in mood over the last fortnight in Glenrothes, which borders Brown's own constituency. One claimed: "People see Brown as one of their own and they feel safer having him in charge at times like this."

For Labour to hold on in Glenrothes would be hailed by the party as a personal triumph for Brown. Incredible, really, when you remember that a month ago Labour plotters were saying that defeat there would trigger an unstoppable collapse in his leadership.

THE MOLE: BROWN'S BOUNCE

FIRST POSTED OCTOBER 15, 2008