Thread: Tony Blair: President of Europe..?

Originally Posted by singlewedge

As person on this side of the pond I can say that the papers here painted Blair as a Bush lapdog.

If that is what he is then make him president of Antarctica.

Please excuse my ignorance of European Affairs, but wasnt Blair also Clintons lapdog as well. IIRC they too got along a little too well.

Originally Posted by Otto

I'm so glad that not all countries in Europe are members of EU!

So true. I wish mine was not part of EU too. Maybe I should try and apply for a different citizenship.. As for a president, I honestly don't care, since I am not in favor of the EU in general.

I think this country has a lot to thank him for, really.

I also think if we're got to have a European president, we might as well have a Brit.

Originally Posted by gregs656

I think this country has a lot to thank him for, really.

I also think if we're got to have a European president, we might as well have a Brit.

I agree with you on the having a Brit part, but I really dont think Blair will represent our interests. He's far too keen on currying favour with the political elite to make a stand on a matter. Cant we have someone who will actually stand up for the UK and fight our corner?

I must admit, I cant think of many things that we can be pleased about! He did make the Bank of England independant in 1997, which definately improved its credibility, for instance.

But on the other hand, we now have failing law and order, children leaving schools unable to read or write, a spiralling benefits culture and growing "underclass" who are not prepared to work, rampant immigration and an NHS that is increasingly not fit for purpose. And thats just to start with..! And all the while MPs have been filling their boots with our hard earnt cash.

I really dont think that the working classes of the UK have anything much to thank Blair for. His (and Browns) government have been far too busy flashing their PC credentials and conducting what amounts to a huge social experiment to actually look out for the best interests of the vast majority of the population, regardless of race, colour or creed.

And there are too many examples of incompetence, lying, political point scoring and downright criminality to restore Blairs credibility in my eyes. I just dont trust the guy.

Originally Posted by gregs656

I think this country has a lot to thank him for, really.

I also think if we're got to have a European president, we might as well have a Brit.

I am a Belgian, but that does not necessarily mean I think the president should be Belgian. Sure, Dehaene is more than qualified for the job, and has a solid background. There are probably others who are jsut as qualified.

But I would definitely like the EU to be led by someone whose prime concern is the EU. Blair has a tendency to bow to the whims of the US.

Originally Posted by Stubear

But on the other hand, we now have failing law and order, children leaving schools unable to read or write, a spiralling benefits culture and growing "underclass" who are not prepared to work, rampant immigration and an NHS that is increasingly not fit for purpose. And thats just to start with..! And all the while MPs have been filling their boots with our hard earnt cash.

I really dont think that the working classes of the UK have anything much to thank Blair for. His (and Browns) government have been far too busy flashing their PC credentials and conducting what amounts to a huge social experiment to actually look out for the best interests of the vast majority of the population, regardless of race, colour or creed.

And there are too many examples of incompetence, lying, political point scoring and downright criminality to restore Blairs credibility in my eyes. I just dont trust the guy.

Failing law and order? Stats?

Education gets reported every now and then, but there are social as well as political issues with that one. So anything to back up that labour govt destroyed it?

Again, that's a social issue, was that cause by the govt?

Rapant immigration? Is that a bad thing? It's worked out quite well for us, solved a few of our problems. The only issue with immigration is xenophobia, but, can you blame that on the govt as well?

The NHS is never going to work with our population demographic, but you can't really blame this govt for educating women (which is effectively what screws up population)

Those in power have always filled their boots, is that just labour now as well? (incidentally, that's a major factor in the issues with the NHS, those guys are screwing us over as well)

We actually had a pretty solid 10 years under blair. I wasn't sad to see him go, his time was up, but lets not forget all the good times eh.

It's a fair point Bruno, the only reply off the top of my head is that bowing to the whims of the US doesn't nessercerily mean he wouldn't have the EUs best interests at heart.