Blair's bounce
Adam Smith Blog
By Madsen on Politics
I was in a central London pub at lunchtime on Thursday. The crowd was occasionally watching and listening to the news of the bombings on TV; otherwise there was the usual level of background noise and chatter that goes on. Then Blair's voice came on and everyone went silent. People stopped talking and turned to the screen, listening with complete attention to the Prime Minister's voice.
George Orwell described how Churchill invoked this reaction, and how a pub crowd would go silent and turn to the radio when his familiar voice came on. Whatever Churchill had, Blair has some of it, too. It may indeed be acted, with the short, broken phrases conveying a choked-voice emotion, but it is effective. Churchill himself would practise his speeches to get the timing and the flow just right. It was obvious that Tony Blair was speaking to and for the nation.
There is no doubt that last week saw Tony Blair's position reinvigorated. The London win for the 2012 Olympics, the G8 decisions on Africa and climate change, and his response to the London bombings, all reinforced his leadership and his stature in Britain and the world.
Patrick Hennessy (Telegraph) and Fraser Nelson (The Business) have been among the political editors to draw attention to this change in the fortunes of a man who seemed to stagger weakly through the elections to emerge as a diminished figure serving out his limited time. But the Blair revival started earlier than last week. His determination to prioritize Africa and world poverty struck a popular chord expressed by Bob Geldof, Bono, and the Live-8 supporters.
He capitalized on the EU constitution defeat to change from someone anxious to have the UK endorse their vision of Europe into someone leading with an alternative and more realistic vision of its future. His response to Chirac's attack on the British rebate was a breathtaking attack on the CAP which lies at the heart of the EU. In a few deft moves Blair changed the whole game, outflanking the dealings of Old Europe and the Brussels bureaucracy with stunning leadership of a New Europe ready to act globally.
On this site there have been many criticisms of Blair's erosion of individual liberties, the increased taxes his government has introduced, and the plethora of regulations which have handicapped business and the economy. He deserves praise, though, for the things he does right, and the fact is that he has been on a roll, responding to unfolding circumstances with deft and decisive leadership. This is praise he has earned. |
