Tony Blair's new avatar |
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Sun, 26 Jun 2005 16:35
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That jaded look is gone only to be replaced by that ever-present infectious grin. It is beginning to look like Prime Minister Tony Blair is a much more relaxed man than he was around a month ago.
Battered by the voters who returned him with a wafer-thin majority, hounded by colleagues and the media alike to vacate Number 10 and faced with the prospect of an ignominious exit, Tony Blair had forgotten what it felt like to exercise his risorius (responsible for grinning) muscle. But he has emerged stronger from that turmoil and can now joke around with his retirement plans.
Analysts say that the EU summit, which was widely seen as a failure, has actually boosted Tony Blair's image amongst the British public, who saw him as a lone knight fighting off the pests to retain Britain's annual rebate. That he has indeed emerged stronger from the EU shambles is underlined by the fact that he actually apologized for the tax-credit system, which has come in for severe criticism.
Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, the Prime Minister said, "For those families caused hardship and distress, we apologise. I accept there are serious issues to be addressed and we are addressing them." His Chancellor Gordon Brown sat stone-faced while Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo went on the defensive, "I have already taken measures to act upon each of the major administrative issues raised by the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Citizen Advice Bureaux. As the report of the Citizens Advice Bureau states tax credits are the best way to deal with society's responsibility to help with the costs of bringing up children and tackling child poverty," she said.
And on Thursday, at the European Parliament, Tony Blair underlined his newfound confidence and told Europe, "In every crisis, there is an opportunity." You could be forgiven for thinking that he was referring to himself as much as the EU. But what actually turned the tide in his favor or at least is showing signs of doing so is the fact that the usually anti-Blair French and German newspapers are declaring him to be the new strong man of Europe. He appears to have rediscovered his oratory skills and this will only hold him in good stead for the foreseeable future.
While it is foolish to expect that there won't be any Blair-bashing, it is also a sure fact that post-EU Tony Blair is a changed man, someone who knows where he is and where he wants to go.
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