President Blair

From Student Direct

Well they were warned again and again and now - finally - they seem to be listening.

The wheels of Tony Blair’s Presidential bandwagon appear to be fast coming loose as European leaders turn on the former Prime Minister. France and Germany, the major European political powerhouses whose support is widely acknowledged as being essential if Blair is to win the post, appear to be cooling to the prospect of his controversial appointment as President of the EU. Angela Merkel, whose re-election as German Chancellor has greatly increased her European clout as a result of her increased electoral majority, is withholding her vital support.

And rightly so. The EU is facing a serious crisis of credibility in the wake of the bloody battle over the Lisbon Treaty, which - if ratified - will make significant changes in the way the Union operates. Eurosceptics are furious that the treaty has been ‘railroaded’ through to its final stages of ratification, despite initial opposition from Ireland, which first voted against the Treaty in a national referendum only for the result to be reversed after pressure from Brussels to hold a second vote. Vaclav Klaus, the Czech President and ferocious critic of the Treaty, has been leading a concerted campaign to stop ratification which has won support from various nationalist politicians around the continent.

The emergence of Blair as a serious contender has been viewed with dismay by centre-left parties throughout the EU; who are desperately looking for an alternative contender. The most obvious stain on his record is the Iraq war, with the forthcoming inquiry likely to be heavily critical of his support for the US in bypassing the UN and pressing ahead with the military intervention.

But Blair’s refusal to consider British membership of the Euro or the open-border Schengen arrangement also calls into question his European credentials. The role of EU President must be to represent the majority view held by member states that single currency is an economically sound decision. The logic of European integration is that member states cooperate on projects that are of interest to the Union as a whole. Blair, as Prime Minister, embedded Britain’s status as an EU pariah, ruling out discussion on Euro membership and pursuing an unrelenting approach to foreign affairs that clashed with the more cooperative agenda of the other major Western European member states.

The socialist grouping the European parliament, with which Blair is theoretically aligned, is rightly hostile to his breathtaking arrogance regarding the position he is seeking. According to the Independent, Gordon Brown’s arrival at the two-day EU summit in Brussels the other week was marked by a “shouting match” between Brown and Martin Schultz, the leader of the Socialist group, with Brown defending Blair’s supposed record as a “passionate pro-European”. The Times reported that Blair was only interested in the position if it is “substantial…requiring clout on the world stage.” Allies of the former Prime Minister have confirmed that he would not consider the position if it is seen as having only limited possibilities in terms of global influence.

This is hardly surprising. Blair’s period in office was marked by an imperious leadership style through which - like Thatcher before him - he aimed to sideline opposition within his own party and cabinet, and instead run the country as he personally saw fit. His huge electoral majorities of 1997 and 2001, which brought with them the potential for serious reform, were thrown to waste as the government embarked on socially and economically suicidal programmes that have only embedded the inequality that was the trademark of Conservative government.

Admitting Blair’s toxic brand of individualism to the heart of European decision-making is the recipe for unmitigated disaster. The debate over the Lisbon Treaty has been cynically exploited by a range of far-right parties, represented in Britain by the BNP and UKIP. They have, with some success, equated membership of the EU as adversely affecting the democratic rights of European citizens. The more hysterical members of the anti-EU clan have even attempted to paint a picture of Brussels as the capital of a Europe-wide empire of bureaucracy that will, if the Treaty is ratified, stifle the last remnants of opposition.

Most of this, of course, is grossly exaggerated. While concern about the EU’s democratic shortcomings are well founded - members of some institutions in Brussels such as the Commission are not elected - the notion of a battle for democracy is preposterous. The EU has in fact played an important role in upholding, not suppressing, the rights of its citizens. The European Court of Human Rights has seen its caseload increase dramatically in recent years, with the backlog standing at 70,000 as of early 2007. Many of these cases relate to human rights abuses in central and eastern Europe, where judicial rigour is sometimes questionable. The Court was also responsible for upholding the right of gay men and women to serve openly in the military in Britain.

Sending Blair to Brussels would have the effect if exacerbating the influence of virulent Eurosceptics who pedal this misinformation. The Labour party, struggling for electoral survival, could not score a more sensational own goal than supporting the candidacy of this discredited and morally bankrupt man.

But this is precisely what it is doing. On the BBC’s Question Time, former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith stated that Blair was “accountable to the 27 member states” of the EU and that he was the only candidate capable of making people “listen and engage.”

Accountable to who exactly? Blair will be appointed, not elected, and his record on European integration is a far cry from the integrationist and co-operative approach required to succeed. Journalist John Sergeant supported Smith‘s position, accusing “small-minded” politicians of descending into a “silly squabble” about “how we don’t like Tony Blair”, he advocated Blair’s candidacy because “it’s always important to make sure that as many Brits as possible are in the senior positions [in Europe]”. It is precisely this flawed nationalistic view of the EU - that Britain is right and the other member states are wrong - that has limited, not extended this country’s political influence in Brussels.

Blair’s interest in a high profile role in Europe will not allay the fears of many European citizens who are angry or perplexed by the workings of the organisation. A more low-profile candidate, focused on addressing the EU’s failings rather than advertising it to the world, may well reduce the sense of detachment felt by many people in its member states. Speaking on the ITV’s News at Ten, Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister, noted the “link for the coming generations between Iraq, Bush and Blair. Sometimes in politics you have to show that you can bring thing together and not divide them. There are better candidates than Tony Blair.”

If EU politicians have any sense, they will realise that the solution to Europe’s problems lie with a more humble and honest politician that Tony Blair can ever hope to be.