Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s eagerly awaited memoirs ‘A Journey’ has added more swirls to the already fractious whirlpool of the Labour Party leadership contest.
The former prime minister’s candid and often self-righteous posturing about his years in power has re-opened the old rifts that divided the Labour leadership during the last 13 years in power under Blair and Gordon Brown.
Blair’s account of the inner party wrangling between himself and Brown confirms the long-suspected mutual distrust the two leaders had borne for each other.
Manipulative Self-indulgence
Blair’s ‘Journey’ follows ‘ The Third Man’ by another erstwhile Labour stalwart Peter Mandelson. What is obvious about both the memoirs is the exhibition of manipulative self-indulgence by their authors that distorts history to a one dimensional narrative.
The implications of Blair’s revelations of the behind-the-scenes shenanigans indulged in by two powerful men in the government cannot be over emphasized.
The duel between the leading contestants for the party leadership - David Millband and Ed Mliband – echoes the old bickering between Blair and Brown. The bigger issue is the ramifications of such a nasty squabble in the government for the British electorate and the rest of the world since decisions made at No. 10 Downing Street had enormous implications.
Brown Is ‘Maddening’
When Blair describes Brown as ‘maddening’ and having ‘zero emotional intelligence’, the issue he obfuscates is his moral authority as the prime minister to pick his own Cabinet. His justification for not sacking Brown in the wider interest of the party raises questions about his decisions as prime minister of a government responsible for the whole country.
The most damaging revelation in Blair’s memoires is his claim that he was ‘blackmailed’ on the issue of pension reforms. How can a prime minister justify his decisions while he was admittedly being ‘blackmailed?’ He was, after all, sworn in, to serve the best interest of the British people.
On the foreign policy front, Blair justifies the decision to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. However, the decision should be re-examined in the light of the internecine warfare that was raging between Blair and Brown, who controlled the Treasury.
Impact on Governance
Are two people who carry deep mistrust against each other and vie for power capable of taking an important decision to invade a sovereign country that resulted in the death and maiming of tens of thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of British soldiers?
How many such policy decisions – both on domestic and foreign issues, affecting millions of people - were taken by the Labour government amid the vicious rancour over power between Blair and Brown? Did the nature of the raucous relationship between Blair and Brown have any bearings on other key policy decisions of the government?
Devadas Rajaram - Hi everybody, I am Devadas. I am an Indian and currently doing my master’s in Multi-media Journalism at Newcastle University, UK. ...
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