The Blair project gains momentum
Financial Times: February 4 2008 19:20
Rumours grow ever stronger that Tony Blair might want to run Europe now that the ex-prime minister has stopped running the UK. The British press reports that Blair met former top aides at Davos last month to plot a pitch for the new job as a permanent president of the European Union. Up till now countries have taken turns in the chair but after the Lisbon treaty is ratified there will be one person at the top for a fixed term.
Yet opposition to a man many see as a warmonger and US stooge is already growing. European Tribune, a website run by the liberals behind the Daily Kos in the US, is starting a petition against his yet-to-be declared candidacy.
It was conceived at the weekend, and by Monday night the petition had been translated into nine languages and two website domains – including stopblair.eu – had been reserved.
"This was a spontaneous idea that caught on among readers," said Jerome Guillet, a Paris-based investment banker who prefers not to reveal his employer. (No, it is not Société Générale.)
"This is not just about the UK: it is about him," he assures residents of Europe’s "semi-detached" member. Indeed he will be fishing for customers there.
Eurotrib.com, which has more than 2,000 users daily, hopes to get 1m signatures. That is the magic figure that, under the very same Lisbon treaty, obliges Brussels to take up the idea and consider acting on it.
Woohoo! Way to go, Jerome!
As someone who has seen enought of Tony Blair's duplicity, mendacity and warmongering, I'm signing the petition just as soon as it is made available! Citizens of the EU, unite and save yourselves from more war, more waste and more Blair!