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Tony Blair Positioning to Be EU President
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Since stepping down as Britain’s prime minister, Blair has been an international diplomat and a business consultant. The first EU president could be his next role.
30-Second Summary
German newsmagazine Der Spiegel wrote on Jan. 28 that Tony Blair is the prime contender to become the first EU president.
At the moment, the EU member states take turns to be leader for one year. But that is set to end, and a long-term president will be elected.
Blair has yet to say publicly whether he will run. However, many thought his intention to make a bid for president was indicated by an appearance he made on Jan. 12 with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy has already offered his support for Blair should he launch a campaign.
Speaking in French, Blair addressed a 2,000-strong crowd of Sarkozy supporters: “Europe is not a question of left or right, but a question of the future or the past, of strength or weakness.”
Time magazine speculates that Blair could find “common ground” among all of the member states. However, not everyone is thrilled with the prospect of a Blair candidacy. A Web site, www.stopblair.eu, has appeared with sole purpose of decrying the idea.
Much of the opposition to Blair stems from his advocating the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Also, questions about probity arose when Blair became a part-time consultant to investment bank JP Morgan and Zurich Financial Services.
On this subject, U.K. paper The Independent wrote, “The appointment of former heads of government to such positions is controversial because they are hired for the contacts they made while in political office and the access and influence they might still command.”
At the moment, the EU member states take turns to be leader for one year. But that is set to end, and a long-term president will be elected.
Blair has yet to say publicly whether he will run. However, many thought his intention to make a bid for president was indicated by an appearance he made on Jan. 12 with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy has already offered his support for Blair should he launch a campaign.
Speaking in French, Blair addressed a 2,000-strong crowd of Sarkozy supporters: “Europe is not a question of left or right, but a question of the future or the past, of strength or weakness.”
Time magazine speculates that Blair could find “common ground” among all of the member states. However, not everyone is thrilled with the prospect of a Blair candidacy. A Web site, www.stopblair.eu, has appeared with sole purpose of decrying the idea.
Much of the opposition to Blair stems from his advocating the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Also, questions about probity arose when Blair became a part-time consultant to investment bank JP Morgan and Zurich Financial Services.
On this subject, U.K. paper The Independent wrote, “The appointment of former heads of government to such positions is controversial because they are hired for the contacts they made while in political office and the access and influence they might still command.”
Headline Link: Blair tests the water for presidential bid
On Feb. 2, The Guardian wrote that Blair was consulting with his allies about how to launch a bid for presidency. He is reportedly frustrated with his lack of influence as the Quartet’s special envoy to the Middle East. He is also concerned that EU members that feel their sovereign powers threatened by the creation of a president will rob the role of real power.
Source: The Guardian
Tony Blair’s address to 2,000 supporters of President Sarkozy was described by The Guardian as “his most important speech” since stepping down as prime minister in June 2007. He said globalization was changing traditional party politics, and promoted European cooperation: “Europe is not a question of left or right, but a question of the future or the past, of strength or weakness.” The Guardian interpreted the speech, delivered in French, as the first step in Blair’s campaign for presidency.
Source: The Guardian
Background: Blair’s post-premiership career
Leaving office
In a three-part BBC series that aired in November, Blair admitted there were “tensions” between him and current British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. While in office, Blair considered removing Brown from his role as finance minister. Blair says of his resignation last June, “It’s not that I couldn’t go on a little longer. I probably could.”
Source: The Independent
After many years’ waiting, Finance Minister Gordon Brown became British prime minister on July 27, 2007. Departing Tony Blair adopted the role of special peace envoy to the Middle East. findingDulcinea reports.
Source: findingDulcinea
Diplomacy
Hours after he officially stepped down as prime minister, Tony Blair was named the Middle East envoy for the Quartet, an entity created by the United Nations, the EU, America and Russia to pursue peace in the Middle East. Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s editor for the Middle East, said that “Israelis like Mr. Blair because they believe he is on their side and Palestinians in the main do not trust him for the same reason.”
Source: The BBC
In mid-January 2008, Blair announced that he will begin serving as an unpaid adviser to Rwandan President Paul Kwame. According to The Guardian, “Blair has been impressed by the way Rwanda has transformed itself since the 1994 genocide and believes he can raise funds to help the government.”
Source: The Guardian
Finance
Investment bank JP Morgan hired Blair last month to work part-time in a “senior advisory capacity.” The bank, which is rumored to be paying him more than $1 million a year, says he offers a “fresh perspective.” Blair for his part, says he is excited to give the bank advice on the “political and economic changes that globalization brings.”
Source: The BBC
Zurich Financial Services, one of the world’s largest insurers, hired Blair as a consultant in late January. This comes one week after his appointment as a special consultant to JP Morgan. Writes The Independent, “The appointment of former heads of government to such positions is controversial because they are hired for the contacts they made while in political office and the access and influence they might still command.” He is also reportedly receiving £5 million ($9.82 million) for his memoirs.
Source: The Independent
Opinion: Assessing Blair’s abilities
In a piece dated June 3, 2007, towards the end of Blair's tenure as prime minister, the Times of London criticized the cornerstone of his foreign policy: liberal interventionism. According to the paper, that strategy “has failed the most crucial test of any policy in being neither morally evenhanded nor effective in action.”
Source: The Times
A Web site campaigning to stop Tony Blair becoming EU president, www.stopblair.eu went live on Feb. 5. Speaking about the site, Paris-based investment banker Jerome Guillet told The Daily Telegraph, “Tony Blair embodies many things we do not like. He is universally reviled.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Peter Hahn, a banking expert at London’s Cass Business School, says that Blair’s new position with JP Morgan is a “great coup” for the bank. Yet co-founder of executive search and selection firm Hanson Green thinks that Blair should make the most of the position while he can. "Politicians have a limited shelf-life. Even Mr. Blair may only have two years of benefit,” Green said.
Source: The BBC
Analysis: Blair and the EU presidency
In a Feb. 8 article in the Times of London, political editor Philip Webster reports on rumors that if Tony Blair puts himself forward for European president, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will support his nomination. Blair and Brown have had a long political relationship, characterized by mutual dependence and rivalry.
Source: The Time of London
In January, the U.K. government raised Britain’s annual net contribution to the European Union from 2.8 billion to 5.5 billion. Charles Moore at The Daily Telegraph hypothesized that this steep increase was connected with the bid for EU presidency that the government’s former leader is expected to make.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Time magazine consider the resistance that Tony Blair will face should he make a bid to become EU president. He has firm support from French conservatives, which may distance him from the center-to-leftist leaders of Portugal and Spain. Yet his knack for what Time calls “finding common ground” may help him with the younger EU states, such as Latvia.
Source: Time
“Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair appears to be the front-runner right now, but a number of senior statesmen have emerged as viable candidates,” writes Der Spiegel in a Jan. 28 article.
Source: Der Spiegel
Reference: Tony Blair
Tony Blair’s official post-Downing Street Web site includes video clips, reports about his work as part of the Middle East Quartet and transcripts of his past speeches.
Source: The Office of Tony Blair
The Guardian has a roundup of video clips on its Web site featuring interviews with the former prime minister and with his main political rivals.
Source: The Guardian
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