Mitt Romney - a one-term governor untested on the world's political stage - faces high stakes in his visits to England, Israel and Poland. The trip amounts to an international audition.

All the while, the Republican presidential candidate is seeking to persuade voters back home to elect him their leader. The weeklong trip will invite comparisons to Barack Obama's successful pre-election overseas 2008 tour.

Romney hopes to prove that he is no novice on foreign policy.

But the trip carries risk. He's likely to be pressed for details about his views on critical foreign issues.

Romney is in England until Saturday, when he travels to Israel and then on to Poland.