DAVID Miliband has said his relationship with brother Ed is "healing" in the wake of their bitter battle for the Labour leadership.
The former foreign secretary admitted he would "never erase" the memory of his defeat in 2010.
But he said there was no point "looking in the rear view mirror", and leaving British politics would end the "soap opera" – though he did not rule out a comeback.
In a TV interview, the ex-MP said he was "excited" to be moving to New York to head up the International Rescue Committee charity.
"The truth is I did not think I would be in this position," he said. "But I am now, I'm excited, I am engaged. Of course I am sad to go, but I am excited by the challenge ahead."
Mr Miliband added: "The truth is that these things, you can never erase them from memory or history.
"But Ed and I are brothers for life. That is something that you value and that you nurture whatever the difficulty of the circumstances."
Asked if his relationship with Ed was "healing", Mr Miliband replied: "Of course."
Comparing the brothers to Wimbledon tennis finalists Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, he went on: "The important thing though is that you've got to never lead our lives by looking in the rear view mirror.
"You can't afford to end up eating yourself up with that kind of struggle.
"You got to try and say, there are the Murrays of this world who win and there are the Djokovics who come second.
"You've got to be gracious when you don't win."
Mr Miliband also rejected the idea Britain was entering a period where the only governments would be coalitions.
"I don't think anyone on either side should be banking on the fact that it is bound to be a coalition, I don't see it that way," he said, adding it is "all to play for".
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