Tanned and smiling,
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Tanned and smiling,
Mr Blair arrives
among us
Ronnie Smith
Of course what was notable in Mr Blair’s presentation was his continued lack of understanding of, or even any interest in, the source of the power
that he so craves.
The evening was given the title ‘The Future of Europe in the New Global Order’, but Mr Blair must be accepted as a member of Europe’s genuine political elite and can handle such a portentous speaking assignment.
And then he is among us, tanned and smiling (that smile…), accompanied by PSD’s current young leader Victor Ponta, himself a lawyer. Mr Ponta introduces Mr Blair as one of the politicians that he most admires (more smiling) and then takes his seat in the audience, somewhat behind the past leaders of the party who seem only too happy to observe Romanian cultural requisites by shunning him.
Mr Blair speaks for 40 minutes and apart from telling us once more how it falls to a few true leaders to take the necessary but difficult decisions, feeling the ‘hand of greatness’ on his shoulder, he spends a few moments dealing with the nub of the event’s central topic. It is that in the post-war years, the European project’s overriding objective was peace. Now, in the 21st century, the objective has changed and we must now focus on power; power in the new global order, power that can only be wielded by European states, in the face of growing competition from Asia and South America, if they work together. Yes ladies and gentlemen, power. Power, power and more power. That is what the EU is now for.
The audience seemed to like this idea very much. Being Romanian, the last time they remember wielding any kind of international power was when they joined Nazi Germany to invade the Soviet Union in June 1941 and that didn’t turn out very well. But here was Tony Blair telling them that they were now members of one of the world’s most powerful blocs, if only it could harness that power. Great stuff.
Of course what was notable in Mr Blair’s presentation was his continued lack of understanding of, or even any interest in, the source of the power that he so craves. Consistent with his days as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister, Mr Blair did not waste one second talking about the people of Europe and how their voices might be heard, or how they might be effectively represented in his new European project.
Mr Blair may be very highly regarded as a politician in some quarters and he certainly enjoys the acquisition and application of power; just ask my Serbian friends. However, he will never pass Politics 101 because of his failure to grasp the concept and the origins of sovereignty and he will never be regarded as a genuinely great leader because of his consequent inability to ‘take the people with him’. He did talk about giving the people what they want but that is not exactly the same thing if you don’t openly and honestly discuss the available options with them.
Regardless of his international status and his many genuine achievements it remains true that the most interesting thing about a Tony Blair speech is what he doesn’t say, the things that are missing, the things he doesn’t want to tell us. This is why the ‘Third Way’ always seemed so half-baked and it is a symptom of the viral disease that has infected Europe’s political elite of late, a politics of continent-wide power held without accountability in which a project of integration and global projection is implemented without popular discussion. It is a project that will unravel simply because the elite of Europe have not bothered to build a genuine continental democratic structure through which they can communicate with the people.
We should be grateful that Mr Blair failed to become president of the European Council under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, because he would have been considerably more effective in the role than Herman von Romuy. In spite of his most broadbrush approach to policy, Mr Blair has a very clear vision of our future. He just can’t be bothered to tell us what it is. Ask my Serbian friends.
Ronnie Smith was born in Largs and now lives in Romania, working as a professional training business consultant and communication coach. He is also a teacher of political science, a political and social commentator and a writer of fiction
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