Reply #18: I don't think he was bribed/ threatened directly... [View All]

[LeftishBrit]

I think he's got a messianic mission to set the world to rights. Though he would never admit it, I'm sure he would have loved to be around at the time when Britain had an Empire, and Took Up the White Man's Burden to kindly rule those Natives better than they could rule themselves. Since it's at least 60 years too late for that, he bought into Bush's imperialist mission.

Like his predecessor Maggie, to whom he sometimes has a disconcerting resemblance, he thinks he's always right and that there is a great place in the history books for him; and that the world will probably stop spinning on its axis once he ceases to be PM. He even uses similar metaphors to her - she said famously, "The lady's not for turning"; he said "My car has no reverse gear" (which sounds illegal and dangerous!) He suffers from the elected-dictator syndrome, which affects leaders who stay in office too long and with too large a parliamentary majority; and, as with Maggie, it will probably be his own party that finally makes him go.

I hope he lives long enough to discover that there is NOT a great place in the history books for him; and that the world continued to spin on its axis just as well and probably even better after he left.

Unfortunately, there is the issue of who'll replace him. There is no obvious outstanding person - and that's why he has stayed so long, despite being very unpopular for some time. At least initially, it will almost certainly be Gordon Brown, who is better than Blair insofar as he does not appear to be completely barking mad; but does not inspire me in the least.