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Finally, Tony Blair backs a ceasefire!

Well, there are no dead bodies this time around, but I'm sure you see my point.

I must say; it was a very good show of humility that Blair put on yesterday... I haven't seen a performance quite like it since he furrowed his brow after the hammering he got at the 2005 General Election when his majority was halved and he assured us (or, rather, many angry Labour MPs) that lessons had been learned*.

(*You do remember that election don't you? It was the same one that Blair's team were this week busy assuring us amounted to "a popular mandate for a full term"...)

Speaking of furrowed brows, I wasn't the only one to notice that - with every clench - the worry lines on his forehead formed the letter 'W', like an indelible death-mark.

For me, watching at home, the statement (which you can read in full here) went something like this:

"The first thing I'd like to do is to apologise actually [*IRAQ*], on behalf of the Labour party for the last week, which, with everything that's been going on back here and in the world [*IRAQ*], has not been our finest hour [*IRAQ*], to be frank. But I think what is important now [*IRAQ*] is that we understand that it's the interests of the country that come first [*IRAQ*] and we move on [*IRAQ*]."

You're probably expecting some focus on Blair's use of the words 'party leader' instead of 'Prime Minister' here, but I'll leave that to others. What I want to focus on is this:

"I think it's important for the Labour party to understand, and I think the majority of people in the party do understand, that it's the public that comes first and it's the country that matters, and we can't treat the public as irrelevant bystanders in a subject as important as who is their prime minister."

Click here. Read this. Watch the videos. Share the link.

The electorate deserves to see Blair's brownshirts treating the public as irrelevant bystanders as he spoke these words. People need to understand that the 'right' to protest is an illusion; that any visible criticism of our Great Leader is forbidden and that the 'overwhelming public support' for him is a tissue of lies:

Bloggerheads - Popular support costs money
Justin McKeating - Masters of the Universe
Bloggerheads - David Taylor is a busy man (and a new media genius)

And speaking of tissues... this is a ceasefire that will not and cannot hold.

Blair crippled himself on Wednesday when he accused Gordon brown of a coup attempt and failed to sack him.

What little authority he has left is going to be challenged during conference season and from the first significant vote in Parliament onwards. He also has little hope of riding the storm that's still brewing over party donations 'loans'.

Those who are right now busy spitting venom and/or spreading black propaganda on Blair's behalf will want to consider their positions. Carefully.

Ditto for those who are sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see who they should cheer for when the game is over. There are far too many bystanders in the media and in Parliament. The stakes are too high for their role to be forgotten.... and there's a lot that's going to be very difficult to forgive.

UPDATE - BBC - Blair jeered by college students

UPDATE - Telegraph - Beyond the barricades, irrelevant bystanders find reality: Mr Blair gave the briefest glance at the crowd before turning his back and greeting some of the dignitaries and better behaved pupils who were lined up to receive him... The event was organised along the same lines as the last general election: any member of the public who might ask Mr Blair an awkward question was kept well away from him, and so was the press... To hear Mr Blair's words, it was necessary to rush away and find a television, which in due course played a tape of his vital announcement about his own future. This included the words: "I think it's important for the Labour Party to understand, and I think the majority of people in the party do understand, that it's the public that comes first and it's the country that matters, and we can't treat the public as irrelevant bystanders in a subject as important as who is their prime minister." It was odd to hear these words having just been treated by Mr Blair as an irrelevant bystander. (via)

UPDATE - Guardian - Sorrow and sophistry as the war ends (for now)

Posted by Manic on September 8, 2006 9:52 AM in the category Tony 'King Blair

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