LONDON (dpa) – Tony Blair is at his best in a crisis. Then all policy decisions emanate from the prime minister’s office, all important statements come from his press spokesman, and actions begin to flow from the words.
At times like these – and there have been several crises in the almost five years since Blair took office – he is disparagingly referred to as “President Blair”.
When Britain’s truckers all but brought the country to a standstill in protest at exceptionally high fuel taxes last year, Blair was soon to the fore, threatening those blockading refineries with strong action and pressuring the oil companies to defy the blockades.
This year the foot and mouth crisis, which began in February, rumbled on for weeks, with agriculture officials routinely accused of dithering, but when Blair got in on the act and sent in the army, resolute action was taken that has now all but snuffed out the epidemic.
As it was with Kosovo two years ago, so with Afghanistan today. When military action loomed, it was Blair who was seen on television, pledging repeatedly that Britain would stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the United States in its efforts to bring down al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Following the September 11 terror attacks, Blair travelled to the Middle East, Russia and the Indian subcontinent in high profile ventures into crisis diplomacy.
By contrast, the trips by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw were a mere sideshow, although he was the first senior British cabinet minister to visit Tehran since 1979. Statements made by Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon were lost in the hubbub, irrespective of their content.
Cabinet ministers for the most part appear grey apparatchiks next to the prime minister. The sole exception is Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, with whom Blair has an ongoing feud for dominance within the Labour Party.
The prime minister clearly revels in his role – he once called it the best job in the world – and this can be seen in his purposeful stride up the steps of the aircraft taking him abroad to confer with world leaders, in the pursed lips and furrowed brow with which he confronts questions from the press.
All major domestic policy initiatives have to receive the Blair stamp before being launched.
In early December it was Blair who faced the press over the ailing state health system, pledging more money for the National Health Service.
Upstaging his own health minister, he made a clear statement of policy rejecting suggestions from the opposition and murmurings within his own party for a change in policy away from tax-funded to insurance-funded health care, as practiced in France and Germany.
Transport, a shambles that infuriates British commuters daily, is next. Blair has reversed his attitude for the 1997 election that transport is “not a priority” and is reported to be showing great interest in the issue.
Aides reveal he is calling meetings, asking for reports and badgering officials. A major U-turn is in the works, with government ready to take a major role in the rail network and London’s underground rail in clear reversal of previous policy in favour of private sector operation.
And the decks are being cleared for the battle over the euro. Commentators close to Blair report he is ready to take on public scepticism towards the single European currency and stake his own reputation on convincing Britain that its future lies in Europe.
This is the single issue that “President Blair” sees as marking his period in office – not incinerating millions of animal carcasses, reducing hospital waiting lists or patching up rattling trains – according to commentators who talk to the prime minister.
Having accomplished this, he might just be ready to step aside to allow Brown a shot at being prime minister and take on a fresh challenge as president of the European Commission.
But, although he recently remarked that “knowing when to go” was the hallmark of a truly great statesman, most Britons believe “President” Blair will be around for some time yet.
