The recent ‘yes’ vote from our Irish cousins has green-lighted the Lisbon Treaty to continue its unstoppable march towards Brussels, bringing with it a new role to the ever-growing sphere of European bureaucracy: the President of the European Union.
Not content to allow the identity of the holder of this position to be haggled over in the EU’s corridors of power, Gordon Brown has decided to throw the UK’s hat into the ring by backing his old friend as a candidate for the post.
He re-crafted the Labour Party into ‘New Labour’ following Peter Mandelson’s guidelines. He obediently followed George Bush into two separate invasions in the Middle East, a move that many blame for the ultimate demise of his premiership. But, not content to fade gracefully into the shadows, Tony Blair’s back.
After two years out of the public eye acting as the UN envoy to the Middle East, Tony looks set to launch his triumphant return to European politics. But with many people still viewing him as the Prime Minister who launched an illegal war in Iraq, there may be some hurdles for him ahead.
As the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war kicks into gear, with Tony Blair as the chief witness, more awkward questions are going to be asked about his actions as Prime Minister. But, acting as Mr. Blair’s PR puppy dog, David Miliband has already jumped to his defense, downplaying his role in the inquiry as little more than that of a “retired prime minister”. Miliband announced his support for Blair’s candidacy declaring, “It’s not a time for shy retiring violets…Europe needs a strong, persuasive, articulate advocate.” According to Miliband, “Tony Blair would be good for Europe, and also good for Britain”.
Both the Conservatives and Lib Dems have criticized Blair’s candidacy. David Cameron commented that he stood against any form of office that took the “emblems of statehood” and applied them to the EU. Continuing that if there was to be a president of the EU then it shouldn’t be in the form of “some all-singing, all-dancing, all-acting president and I think I can see what sort of president Tony Blair would be”.
With Berlusconi attending, Sarkozi as a maybe and ‘still awaiting reply’ from Angela Merkel, Blair’s facebook group of supporters has real potential. So here’s the real question: is Tony Blair the “strong, persuasive, articulate” president that we need to represent us in Europe? Or rather will Blair be seen in Europe as the media-man, ‘all-singing, all-dancing’ but ultimately lacking the conviction to make the hard decisions?
Tony Blair has yet to comment on his candidacy, but it doesn’t look like he’ll have to say much. Supported by the key players in Europe, his position looks to be a foregone conclusion. But as Gordon Brown heads to Brussels to lobby support for Blair, the Iraq war inquiry will begin. And that might just be enough to cast some shadows on his candidacy. In the mean time, let’s hope we don’t get more Tony.