Tony Blair

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on September 29th, 2011
An ardent supporter of the Iraq war, Tony Blair is now tasked with brokering Middle East peace [AFP]

Tony Blair has been a political salesman since he first made his debut at the British Labour Party conference. And he is good, no doubt about that.

Not only because he speaks coherently; he is Scottish after all. Nor is it because he's often compared with George W Bush.

It's because Tony could peddle ideas and sell economic and military agendas better than most.

The question is: Would you buy a used car from Tony?

The Palestinians and the Arabs in general have concluded enough is enough.

Nabil Sha'ath, the Palestinian Authority's first ever foreign minister, told me last year: "Forget Tony Blair. I think Mr Blair is at the wrong time at the wrong place and he’s just making it easier for Mr Netanyahu to deceive us, really, in more ways than one."

By Jamal Elshayyal in Europe on December 11th, 2010
Photo from EPA

For those of you who've followed the recent student protests in Britain over the rise of university tuition fees, their somewhat violent nature may have come as a surprise. 

The Britain of today is not renowned for being radical, the most disobedient Brits get is usually a one-day strike by tube (metro) workers. In fact, probably the only high point in recent years in terms of civil disobedience was in the run up to the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003.

By Teymoor Nabili in Middle East on September 7th, 2010
Picture from AFP

In the few high profile interviews he has given since publishing his memoirs, Tony Blair, the British former prime minister,  has maintained a pretty consistent narrative when it comes to the tough questions.

On Iraq: "I'd do it again."

On Saddam Hussein: "He had to go."

On the war on terror: "It's still on and it's still vital."

No surprise, then, that his Al Jazeera interview with David Frost contained the same staunch self-belief, and an apparent inability (refusal?) to yield any ground at all to conflicting opinions.


 Here's an example. On one occasion Frost floated the theory that perhaps Western policies might have played a part in fuelling extremist action. Blair responded:

 the change in foreign policy happened after 9/11. 9/11 was not something provoked by the West.

By Teymoor Nabili in Europe, Middle East on July 28th, 2010

Hans Blix's appearance before the Chilcott Inquiry has been covered a number of ways, but most media chose to highlight Blix's scepticism about the existence of WMD in Iraq and his belief that an invasion required a second UN resolution to make it legal under international law.  

Britain's Daily Mail follows that general line, and opens with: 

Tony Blair was told by Hans Blix one month before the Iraq War that he was unlikely to ever find weapons of mass destruction.

How to explain, then, the apparently opposite interpretation of Blix's testimony by the Financial Times, expressed in the headline:

Blix told Blair Iraq may have illegal weapons

By Alan Fisher in Europe on April 29th, 2010
Picture from AFP

The Labour Party in the UK  has had a bad election campaign.  Never in front in the opinion polls, now trailing in third place. 

Gordon Brown has failed to excite the electorate - and the unfortunately named 'bigotgate' scandal where he insulted one of the party's core supporters has undoubtedly had an impact. 

Labour is hoping that it's support stands up in traditional areas, the inner cities of England, large parts of Scotland and the urban areas of Wales. 

There is a chance that even trailing in behind the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in the share of the vote, the party could still win the largest number of seats. 

Yet, if they're basing the final result on the opinion polls, Labour supporters and politicians could be in for a very big shock.

A quick analysis of the polls and the reality of the last four elections will make deeply uncomfortable reading.  In the elections in 1

By Alan Fisher in Europe on March 5th, 2010
Picture from AFP

For Gordon Brown there was no need to sneak in like Tony Blair.  His car arrived at the front door and he walked past the occasional shout and the odd jeer not looking back.  The police were there in numbers, the barriers in place, but there were only a handful of protesters to greet his arrival at Britain’s official Iraq Inquiry.

Throughout the build-up to the war, one of the biggest mysteries was the position of Finance Minister Gordon Brown.  One of the most powerful figures in the Labour Government, the presumptive successor to Tony Blair, he made no public comment on the build up.

Within seconds of sitting down in front of the panel that makes up the Chilcott Inquiry his position was clear.

By Alan Fisher in Europe on January 29th, 2010
Photo from AFP

He arrived early - out of sight of the cameras, and the protesters who'd gathered to greet him.

In the damp chill of the winter's morning this was an historic moment. Here was a former British Prime Minister being asked to explain in public why he took his country to war.

The room where the inquiry is being held is small, and compact, some would say claustrophobic.

At 9.30 he walked in. As one of the six journalists given access to this session, I could see his hair was greyer than the last time I saw him. And he was more tanned. Just metres behind him, the members of the public who won seats in a ballot to be there. One had a row of medals on his chest. Another young woman, clutched a photograph of a solider, almost certainly one who died in the conflict in 2003. I thought I saw a slight shake from Tony Blair. A hint from this seasoned performer that even this was causing him a moment of anxiety.

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on January 29th, 2010
Photo from AFP

Watching Blair answering questions of the Iraq public inquiry commission was fascinating for the same reason it was frustrating. It's British.

By Alan Fisher in Europe on January 29th, 2010
Photo by AFP

Tony Blair is a barrister, a seasoned politican and an accomplished public performer.

To think that somehow his performance on Friday in front of the UK's inquiry into the Iraq war would turn up something we didn't know, something we hadn't heard or some amazing admission from the former prime minister was fanciful.

I sat in the very small room in central London as the inquiry's star witness walked in.He's a bit greyer than the last time I saw him in person. And more tanned.

The inquiry chairman reminded everyone Tony Blair was not on trial.

Behind him sat members of the public who won their seats in a ballot such was the demand to be here.

Some were wearing medals, one clutching a picture of a solider.

Like millions around the world, they wanted to hear the first public grilling of a British prime minister of why he went to war.

By Hamish Macdonald in Europe on November 18th, 2009
Photos by AFP

We've spent the day wading through the murky waters of European politics. Leaders from across Europe arrive here in Brussels on Thursday to choose the first ever President of the European Council.

But we really have no idea who they are going to choose. The process has already been described as "secretive" - so much so, the former Latvian President Vaire Vike-Freiberga (herself a candidate) told the Times newspaper that the EU should:

"stop working like the former Soviet Union"

There is much debate about whether to choose a tough, high profile leader in order to affirm Europe's role on the world stage, or alternatively appoint a low key consensus politician from one of the smaller EU states. Both options have their critics. 

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