“IT'S like Barack Obama putting Donald Trump in his cabinet”, assorted British pundits have quipped, after the flailing prime minister, Gordon Brown, appointed Alan Sugar as his “enterprise tsar”. Lord Sugar—the aristocratic title is his reward for agreeing to join a dying government—has, like Mr Trump, overcome a somewhat mixed reputation as a businessman to enjoy widespread public affection as host of “The Apprentice”, a reality-television show. On opposite sides of the Atlantic, the two tycoons have won fans with their no-nonsense comments about the efforts of the contestants, and by making what generally seem fair decisions on whom to tell: “You're fired!”

To observers of the British political scene, trying to grab a piece of Lord Sugar's popularity seems only to confirm Mr Brown's desperation. By contrast Mr Obama is hugely popular, so, the observers imply, he has no need to seek to boost his image by putting at the heart of government some implausible hair and one of the few bling lifestyles to survive the financial crisis. Yet, in some important ways, Mr Obama may need The Donald, or a slightly toned-down version of him, more than Mr Brown needs Lord Sugar.

AP

You're fired! I'm hired?

Mr Obama has tsars in his eyes (or czars, as Americans have it), as this column predicted he would before he took office. He has already appointed a few, including a car tsar, Steve Rattner, a former journalist and private-equity boss, who has been shaking up Chrysler and General Motors to mixed reviews. Usually, such pointmen are not as powerful as their title suggests they should be. The original tsar, appointed in 1982 to oversee the war on illegal drugs, was arguably the least effective of all.

Yet America may need an enterprise tsar rather more than Britain does. Helping small businesses is one policy that Mr Brown has championed consistently. Even before his recent promotion Lord Sugar had been advising the government, pushing ideas such as non-academic training certificates for shop and service workers, nicknamed McQualifications.

The same cannot yet be said of Mr Obama. American business's next problem will be big government. One reason to worry is that there are few business people of any stature who have the president's ear, in sharp contrast to economists, lawyers, scientists, left-leaning politicians and union bosses. True, there are several former Google executives in the administration (the internet-search firm seems to have replaced Goldman Sachs as the main source of business talent for the government). But they are in roles that have little impact on policy towards business, such as head of the White House Office of Social Innovation and deputy chief technology officer.

Bringing an enterprise tsar into the White House could change this, by ensuring that every time one of Mr Obama's other advisers suggests an intervention in the economy of any significance, he is at least forced to consider the question: “What does this mean for business, and especially for the entrepreneurial culture that has for so long made the American economy great?”

Admittedly, there may be many better qualified people for Mr Obama to consider than Mr Trump. His career may have been too chequered, and his lifestyle too loud, for Mr Obama's taste. Yet, whereas other plausible candidates might shun the limelight, it is hard to imagine Mr Trump turning down the job. His pronouncements would certainly attract widespread attention. And now more than ever, the administration could benefit from the insights of someone who has seen America's bankruptcy process close up.

The last time Uncle Sam's role in the economy expanded so rapidly, an even less likely business tycoon was recruited. Joseph Kennedy, President Franklin Roosevelt's choice as the first head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, was an insider trader (before this was made expressly illegal), suspected bootlegger (although there was scant evidence for this) and father to a future president. By comparison Mr Trump is a paragon of commercial virtue. And if the appointment did not work out, Mr Obama could at least find consolation in the pleasure of saying: “Donald Trump, you're fired!”