Sibling rivalry in bid for top UK politics job

LONDON - Career choices were thin on the ground back in Cain and Abel's time. Still, the brothers had the good sense to choose different paths: the first-born, Cain, tended to the arable side of the business while his sibling opted for livestock.

Not that it did them much good. When the time came to offer up a sacrifice, the brothers fell out in deadly fashion.

It might not quite be the oldest story in the world, but it is not far off, and anyone who has a brother will know that relationship, perhaps above all others, is the one capable of generating the most profound feelings for both good and ill.

Most of us decide from an early age it is better to steer our own way through life if we want to consign the hot-eyed quarrels of our joint childhood to the past and emerge as adult individuals in our own right.

So when two brothers come to inhabit the same high-profile worlds - in politics, sport, media or music - it is hard not to wonder how they prevent atavistic emotions bubbling up.

David and Ed Miliband, who this weekend came out as rivals for the highest prize of all - to be Labour leader and possibly future Prime Minister - have dealt with the issue head on.

They have gone out of their way to reaffirm their brotherly love as more important than political ambition.

Family relationship expert Dorothy Rowe, author of My Dearest Enemy, My Dangerous Friend, which examines the often contradictory aspects of sibling relationships, believes the Milibands are probably no different to most brothers in being able to cause each other both intense pleasure and hurt.

"Even when they are friends with one another, siblings are a bit wary, and even when they are fighting they still care about each other," she said.

However, the author felt having listened to Miliband senior talking about his brother, the two have an enduring, if competitive, bond that will survive the leadership contest.

"What he [David] was describing was the sort of relationship between two brothers where they compete enormously over anything. But once it is clear who has won, or if the other brother is attacked from outside the family, then the brothers rally around and look after each other," she said.

The Milibands made it an early condition that they would never be interviewed together.

But brothers have known, from Cain and Abel onwards, that they are saddled with each other.

Rowe explained: "If you have a friend you regard as very close who you discover has treated you badly, you can feel very hurt but you can end that relationship.

"But other people would criticise you if you tried to end a sibling relationship," she said.

"They would say 'blood is thicker than water', and it is that shared history that holds you together."

- Independent