Oct 27 2009
President Blair?
It sounds as if the Czech court is close to crumbling over the advent of the Lisbon Treaty. Maybe the President of the Czech Republic is made of sterner stuff, as he pursues his demands over land claims.
Meanwhile the pro Lisbon forces carry on as if Czech capitulation is inevitable. Mr Miliband tells us Mr Blair is the man for the job of President, as he “would stop the traffic”.
He is right that Mr Blair failed at transport policy as PM, and is memorable in that respect for using the Zil lane he thoughtfully put in to the M4 to speed him on his way whilst the rest of us were queueing in the congestion he had created. He stopped more British traffic in his time than any of his predecessors, with his failure to improve our highway and rail networks and his disinterest in easing congestion. I am sure he would insist on plenty of police outriders and road closures should he become European President, hastening his way to 5 star hotels in the centre of many capitals.
What is so unpleasant about Mr Miliband’s intervention are the two underlying assumptions. Firstly, the Czechs and due process do not matter. Secondly, any British person should take this new job when he must know that the large majority of the British people oppose the Treaty on which it is based and want the vote they were promised.
It would be a bad idea for any British candidate to get this job. The UK is not committed to the full federal project, even under this federally inclined Uk government. Following a General Election it is likely there will be a Eurosceptic government here.
Today the UK is not part of the single currency and the fully integrated economic policy, is ambiguous about full defence integration and states that as a matter of policy it does not wish to see more powers transferred to the centre. The government is keen to break all the economic rules with its large budget deficit.
A future Conservative government would make it a matter of faith to be against the single currency in principle, to want powers back from the centre and to be strongly against defence integration.
There are many genuine integrationists on the continent. A smaller group of countries than the full EU probably could make a success of a federal state. That is what they want. They should choose their own leader as President . Ideally it will be someone who intuitively understands the genius of the British people, and knows that they should not be for ever trying to push us into commitments to integrated central European government which we do not want and cannot accept.
The EU can only make a success of its new Presidency if it understands that there are some whole hearted members of the EU state scheme, and there are other members of the EU who want trade and friendship but do not want common government. Mr Blair clearly does not want to understand just how strongly opposed the UK is to the full scheme, and for that reason alone would be a bad choice for the job of President.
40 Responses to “President Blair?”
John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College...
John you make a number of points for not having Mr Blair as President of Europe.
The most simple one you have left out.
HE CANNOT BE TRUSTED.
I list just a few topics for you.
War on Iraq.
I will serve a full term.
Education, Education, Education.
Tough on the causes of Crime.
There are of course many, many more, the latest being the suggested immigration policy from 2000, but I am sure you get the drift.
The sad fact is: Who can we trust on, or in Europe. I would suggest very, very few.
Could you name some ?
Let EU have Blair, they deserve him and let the electorate have their vote, if not for the Lisbon Treaty then adopt the liberal cloak and let the electorate have a vote on continued membership of the EU.
If the Conservatives truly believe in democracy they should not fear the outcome, just try to ensure they keep faith with the electorate in all things.
After all the hoohah about President Obama, I am surprised that a Socialist politician like Mr Blair should have the face to become the first unelected President of Europe. Who, for example, does he represent? How can someone who pretends to identify with the poor be so utterly determined to make money without even being elected?
There is a terrible danger here. Say the Conservatives get elected very shortly (if they get elected), then will they have the effrontery to stand up to the diplomatic and charming bureaucracy over a French lunch with French wines and German service? Or the parliament which is on to an even better one (£300,000 a year allowance with no receipts)? What about all the cutting dead in the cocktail parties in Brussels? Can they stand up to this?
Even Mr Hague likes to have his back slapped, I am sure.
“A future Conservative government would make it a matter of faith to be against the single currency in principle, to want powers back from the centre and to be strongly against defence integration.”
I’m not sure ‘to want powers back from the centre’ is the right way to go about this, as it will just lead to a long round of horsetrading in Brussels. Time for a new Act of Supremacy. The UK should simply assert that it is a sovereign nation, all powers by definition reside in Westminster and nowhere else, and that the UK government will not use those powers in any enterprise it deems agains the national interest.
Lisbon would be a good place to start with this. We don’t need a President, whoever gets ‘elected’. I’m nervous as to why the Conservative Party feels unable to assert that it regards the UK’s ratification to be lacking in democratic accountability and therefore void. MPs might start getting a bit of respect back from the public if they actually bothered to defend our interests again.
I see that Mohammed El Fayed is bidding to become president of an independent Scottish Republic. His qualifications seem as good as Blair’s for the EU Presidency.
Let us be clear, whoever is chosen, and I repeat chosen – not elected, to be the so-called President of the EU will have no democratic legitimacy. Blair is a charlatan, snake oil salesman. Just why he was given a standing ovation in the Commons, including the Conservatives, when he resigned as Prime Minister after being ditched by his own party I still find offensive. The man that was not up to the job of being leader of the Labour party and UK Prime Minister is now, according to Labour, the best man for this anti-democratic appointment. In a perverse sought of way I suppose he is the ideal candidate. Who better than a political fraud to be appointed to a role created by deception? The fact that so many politicians still fall for his so-called charm speaks volumes for their uselessness and contempt for the people they purport to represent.
Reply: Not all Conservatives applauded.
I find it hard to believe that the EU will choose Tony Blair as the first President of Europe for all the reasons you give. I am no fan of Mr Blair, but as the EU elite are determined to have an EU President, is it not a case of “better the devil you know?”
The bit that bothers me is the democratic credentials of this Euro President. He/she will be several times removed from any election process. As pointed out in an IHT article recently; if the EU president sits down with the US president, only one of them has a genuine, personal elected mandate!
As you say JR, Blair is one of an increasing clique of politicians rejected by their own countries, who think they are entitled to a five star, chauffeur driven retirement, at tax payer expense. A clique that doesn’t require the results from a ballot box to finance their supranational lifestyle.
I can’t see how Blair even makes the short list. Not in the Euro; not in Schengen; supported Bush on Iraq (against France and Germany) and absolutely no UK elected mandate. It does make me cross.
P.S. Are you up for EDM 1064 Wednesday; “Local Spending Reports”. The buggers are trying to dodge publishing local spending by Quangos.
Reply: Yes, Conservatives will all be voting for this on Wednesday – we have tabled the EDM as an Opposition day motion to have a vote on it, as EDMs are never debated, never voted on and usually ignored by government .
To my taste there is too much emphasis in the Tory ranks on Tony Blair becoming President. This is not the point: it is that there should be a president at all. It looks like the Conservatives are implicitly already conceding that they agree to there being one, as long as it is not Blair. I personally hope Vaclav Klaus caves in, because we need to see what stuff Cameron is made of.
The EU deserves no discussion whatsoever. We did not get to vote on the Lisbon Treaty, therefore it is illegal.
We want a referendum on whether to stay in the EU now or leave.
We do not want anybody to be European President, do we? The only way to do that is to de-ratify the Lisbon Treaty on day one of taking office. This reasserts that we are a soverign nation and that no parliament can bind its successor. There is no other way of being in full control of the process of re-negotiating our terms of membership of the EU.
I agree, TCD.
I find it very peculiar that reportedly William Hague has been touring the ambassadors of the other EU countries, telling them that the appointment of Blair would be regarded as “a hostile act”.
He should be telling them that the whole Merkel-Sarkozy plot to rush through the Lisbon Treaty to deliberately deny us our say in a referendum was and is “a hostile act”, and one which a future Conservative government simply would not accept as a fait accompli.
Istead of trying to block Blair, Hague should let his appointment go ahead in the expectation that it would inflame British public opinion and therefore strengthen the Tory government’s hand in negotiations to get us a comprehensive opt-out from the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, as far as that would be technically feasible, plus the re-patriation of a wide range of powers which our Parliament should never have delegated to the EU in the first place.
It was always known as the Chaika lane in my day… and chaika is the Russain for seagull, which aptly reminds you what seagulls do to ordinary people from a great height. I suspect rather than stay in the Georges V, Blair would pull rank and oust the Sarkosys from the Elysee, or take over former Npaoleon’s sister’s house next door (the British Embassy Residence) and bathe as she did in asses’ milk.
Reply: Over the top. I don’t ever recall such excess in his day as PM.
I like Andy C’s proposal.
However, to me Miliband’s statements smack of an application for the job of high rep or whatever it is called rather than a whole-hearted endorsement of Blair.
That being said, Miliband has been briefing a journalist from the New York Times who seems to have fallen hook, line and sinker for his spin. Mr M seems to be developing into a nasty piece of work and needs careful watching.
In a perverse sort of way, it would amuse me enormously if Blair became EU President. Firstly, assuming it all happens very quickly if Klaus surrenders, there is the unedifying spectacle of an unelected president presiding over an unelected Prime Minister here in the UK. That should, if anything, sharpen the British public’s mind over the wisdom of allowing things to proceed unchecked vis a vis the EU.
Once the dust has settled after the next General Election, and assuming that David Cameron is installed as PM, there is the equally interesting spectacle of the motorcade sweeping up to the door of No. 10. This scenario was made very amusing by William Hague as he speculated upon the reaction of Gordon Brown. But what will be the reaction of David Cameron?
I suspect that Blair’s presidency would prove to be the final trickle of pebbles which catch the snow and starts the loud rumble which becomes the avalanche.
If the EU can hang on a few years they can have Angela Merkel, as soon as she has finished training Guttenberg to be her successor.
We blogged here 2 months ago – see below – and believe it is extremely important to do everything we can to deny Mr Blair the European Presidental nomination between now and when the Chilcot Enquiry reports. We shall do that as we continue to believe that his motives in taking Britain into the Iraq conflict will emerge and will confirm his unsuitability for high office ever again.
THE ESSEX BOYS on 17 Aug 2009 at 5:25 pm
Talking of Iraq, many of us continue to wonder whether long-term personal considerations played an important part in the UK’s decision to press for Parliament’s approval to participate in the Iraq invasion.
Indeed in 2004 we produced and circulated to 100 leading political commentators what we entitled
“WHAT IF? A CONTEMPORARY FAIRYTALE OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND FINANCIAL INTRIGUE”.
It was centred around the invasion of a middle eastern state in order to influence the upward movement of the world oil price with subsequent enormous gains in the family assets held by the chief political architects. The increase was able to buy much influence to help ensure the execution of the plan.
All entire speculation and fiction of course but we continue to send copies to interested parties to this day and receive heartening comments as the story just won’t go away!
We have recently made a submission to The Chilcot Enquiry and have attached ‘WHAT IF?’ along with our commentary and proposals. We firmly believe that the public still strives to learn the story behind the story’ with the hindsight benefits of how the fortunes of the leading players have fared since 2003.
THE ESSEX BOYS
August 17th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
We wanted to add that we think it entirely reasonable, particularly after the long delay, that Sir John’s Enquiry covers matters that the laws of libel may have prevented hitherto and which are the subject of much speculation by the public who still fail to understand why the invasion was mounted while the weapons inspectors were in attendance and in the face of so much public and world-wide opposition.
What would president Blair be president of? The Lisbon treaty was not a constitutional treaty – according to that nice Mr Brown who always tells the truth – so therefore the EU would not be a legal entity even if the Czechs do sign and would have no need for a president.
I wish the little Englanders would spend some time outside of the country. Then you might realise the advantages the UK gets from being in the EU rather than harking back to the days of 80 years ago when the UK was strong enough to go it alone!
Ian Jones: Err many of us little and large Englanders have. That is why we wish to retain some independence. Canada, Australia and New Zealand, all with smaller populations and GDP than us, do not feel the need to cede soveriegnty to some larger collective, neither should we. Like those countries we should continue to co-operate with other countries (and not just European Countries) as and when it is in our interests so to do.
This is not looking backwards, it is looking forward, to a time when British, or better still English, politicians do not feel the need to posture on the world stage (and therefore to look for unattainable influence) and the phrase “punching above our weight” is forever banished from the political lexicon.
Ian Jones: I have worked in 24 countries, covering Europe, the Middle East, Asia, South Africa and East Africa. In transport planning, you go where the projects are. This even included 2 weeks in Tashkent. The people were all, in their very different ways, lovely fellows. However, because they are foreigners, I don’t want to share institutions of government with them. When the Single European Act was passed, we had got all we wanted from Europe. The Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon Treaties have all been unwanted (yes, I did vote for James Goldsmith in 1997).
The job itself has a deliberately ambiguous title; President of the Council. It could either be a Presidency, or a chairmanship of the council. The latter is all that can decently be allowed for a non-elected position.
However, that’s not the way Blair works; he’s a broad brush fellow who’ll want to enact his own vision. If that’s what the new role is about, then it must be democratically accountable.
Blair is completely unsuited to a non-elected role.
Having the EU accept Blair as president should cure them forever of ever wanting to be united under one man. Lickily he cannot take the whole damned continent into an unjustified war -though he may well be setting out to plot a course to doing that. However, I do not see how he can keep his other jobs if he takes that one since there would be blatant conflicts of interest. The decision will be down to cost effectiveness. He is not in the habit of forgoing income and I fail to see why this leopard would change his spots now.
(words left out)
It would be an excellent idea for Blair to get the job. It would drive the truth home to any in the UK who still haven’t understood the sham democracy of the EU.
“I wish the little Englanders would spend some time outside of the country.”
That Ian Jones has to make a sneering racist comment to justify their EU project pretty much says everything that is needed to be known about it!
And no we don’t get anything worthwhile out of it. Note Australia manages to keep its independence with a population a third of ours. I don’t hear anyone saying they should pursue political Union with China because they are too feeble to go it alone. Its all a question of confidence and self believe, unfortunately we had 40 years of the EUphile naysayers like Ian Jones trying to sap our national confidence and self believe.
With Lisbon ratified and Blair installed, Cameron must either go to the polls on the basis of a referendum on staying or leaving the EU, or make a definitive statement about our relationship with the EU on which he can base his mandate to govern. These will be the most crucial sentences in his manifesto, and without them he might be elected to win the battle, but he will lose the war.
Weasel words about not letting things rest and wishing to see powers transferred from the centre etc etc. will not give him a mandate to govern effectively, because they mean nothing. His whole term will be dogged by pressures in the party, and pressure from Brussels, unless he cites his intentions more concisely BEFORE being elected. Otherwise, on past form, Brussels will come out on top, and the Eurosceptic Conservatives will split away with UKIP, giving our Labour “friends” another bite at the cherry.
OTT JR? Satirical certainly, but I thought you might remember Blair Force One and Berlusconi’s villa holidays among others that were all real enough. The history about the Embassy Residence and bathing in asses’ milk is incidentally historical fact, recounted to me in said bathroom which is decorated like a battlefield tent by the then Ambassador when he gave a tour of the house.
Well, why not put up a rival candidate?
Was (Chris Patten -ed) any good in HongKong?
JR: “A future Conservative government would make it a matter of faith to be against the single currency in principle, to want powers back from the centre and to be strongly against defence integration.”
I hope the manifesto is stronger than this. Nobody expects the Conservatives to join the euro or sign up to an EU army, but there has to be more specifics on what the powers are that will negotiated back. There is an argument that the UK opted out of the main measure in each of the last few treaties and all that has to be done now is get back the social and employment opt-outs surrendered in 1997. That is equivalent to accepting everything in Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon and would be woefully insufficient. For example, an EU foreign policy is one of the key changes under Lisbon but nowhere have i heard William Hague say he will not go along with it, that the EU high rep will never speak for the UK in the UNSC, or that the UK government will not accept to be bound by QMV decisions on the implementation of foreign policy. The impression remains of a Conservatives party that will aim very low in seeking to renegotiate a few token areas like the Working Time Directive but avoid any real rupture with the federalisation of Europe.
Bring on Tony Blair by all means! It will be the most wonderful schaden-freudetastic amusement to sit back and watch the denoument unfold over the following months.
I hear on the BBC 6 o’clock news that the “EU navy” is searching for a yachtsman and his wife feared kidnapped by Somali pirates?
When did the EU navy come into being?
They kept that quiet.
Ian Jones – if only you realised the real danger to Europe is not we “little Englanders” but people all over this wonderful continent who are being undemocratically forced into a superstate of unelected presidents and leaders mostly without ever being asked if that’s what any of us wanted. No doubt when this all results in inevitable civil war you’ll be hiding behind Little English soldiers to save your scrawny neck
I think president Blair would be a great thing (if only because it would infuriate the right-wing press and the Tory party). I hope Blair makes Cameron bow to him at all diplomatic occasions.
It is disgraceful that the far-right which holds this country to ransom (yes, that means the Tory party, the Murdoch press and the rest of them) by spreading lies about Europe and how we are loosing influence. These are, of course, the same traitors who would happily sell British interests down the river to the extremeist in the US Republican party.
The sooner we take our place in a federal Europe and give the far-right free marketeers in this country a one way ticket to the deep south in the US where they belong the better.
Have you seen Monbiot’s take on this topic?
Should get some support for his arrest committees!
i wish a large majority were against further integration. not sure they are.
Regarding Iain’s point above at 4.28pm, funnily enough John Howard, Aussie PM 1996 -2007, is visiting and was on the Daily Politics today.
He’s always worth a listen and as ever spouted common sense, including fierce support of his country’s immigration stance. Australia’s version of the points system includes annual quotas and an active border service – both sadly lacking under Labour but, thankfully, in the Conservatives plan.
Despite being something of a Blair admirer he was flat against such a role being created in Europe for Blair or anyone else.
Australia – and Canada – always tend to show the old country some sound lessons in discipline and common sense.
“memorable in that respect for using the Zil lane he thoughtfully put in to the M4 to speed him on his way whilst the rest of us were queueing in the congestion”
Brilliant analogy, if I may say so.
Ian Jones: “I wish the little Englanders..”
Ah! the tried and tested ad hominem argument. Don’t forget Ian, you still have in your arsenal such terrifying phrases; “we might miss the train’, or ” We mustn’t be left behind in a two speed Europe” or the oldest and biggest porky of them all “There will be no loss of essential sovereignty”.
Like many others, over the last twenty years I have worked in any number of European countries, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. I have also chosen to spend my holidays in Italy and Spain.
I know the merits – in my estimation of each.
The UK is perfectly ’strong enough’ it is just a matter of the frame of mind of our politicians. Our current crop of politicians spend much of their time groveling on their bellies.
They are an insult to worms.
I don’t want a referendum, there is more fraud in this country than in many banana republics, besides it would only legitimise that which is Unlawful, the surrender of Sovereignty.
And why are our Armed forces not asking about the EU Navy mentioned above, 80% of our laws are now made in the EU, are they in on this Treachery too.
Would Gordon Brown have supported Tony Blair’s quest to be President of the Council of Ministers if GB thought he had a chance of winning the coming General Election?