Shouldn’t the LibDems say that “President Blair” is totally unacceptable?
The view in the more hysterical reaches of the Eurosceptic press is that Tony Blair is heir apparent to become President of the European Council should the Lisbon Treaty be ratified. This fits a neat narrative for those on the Right who wish to warn Cameron that Lisbon is roughly synonymous with Armageddon. Tony Blair is the only man in three and a half decades to have successfully challenged – indeed, reversed - the electoral ascendancy of the Tory party. He is feared, respected and reviled by Conservaties in about equal measure.
But the major issue about Blair for liberals must be that he led Britain casually into an illegal war, on a false prospectus and with utterly catastrophic consequences. There has yet to be a full public enquiry into the Iraq war. Until there is, and until any possible subsequent legal action against Blair is resolved, Nick Clegg and the LibDems should surely use what (limited) political power they have to argue that Blair should not be considered for any meaningful public appointment within the UK or the EU.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
[...] Liberal Vision no doubt correctly complain about a President Blair. They forget a very important point: how incredibly annoying this would be for a. Gordon Brown and b. David Cameron. Imagine the Blair motorcade coming down Downing Street . . . Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)A Failed PresidencyIn the spotlightMagazine publisher abandons gay lifestlyeThe Dadler: Dinner at gunpoint [...]
October 12th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
“Conference calls for … Tony Blair not to be supported by any British or EU Government for the post of President of the European Council, as it would be wholly inappropriate for him to occupy such a position before an enquiry has established his role in the formulation of British policy on torture.”
Autumn Federal Conference 2009