The Blair Legacy : Is there any?

After months of speculation embattled British Prime Minister Tony Blair finally announced his retirement plans. The most successful Labour leader in history has decided to step down within the next 12 months, without getting into a specific time frame about his imminent departure. His unpopularity and the public growing mistrust in his leadership was evident with the way several junior ministers resigned sighting a lack of confidence in his leadership. Also, poll after poll have shown that the Blair run is finally over and that its last lap is being seen by the world. Growing criticism for his domestic and foreign policy, most notably in Iraq, ensured that whatever chance of his political survival were dashed once his heir apparent the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, virtually asked Blair to give a set date or face a government meltdown. So, ten years into New Labour and three consecutive election victories later, has the dark shadow of Iraq doomed the premiership of one of the charismatic and at the same time reviled leaders of contemporary world history?

In 1997, Tony Blair was a 44-year-old leader who charmed the British public with lively public debates in Westminster and looked every bit the pretender to the throne. The only one who could challenge the 18-year reign of the ruling Conservatives. Ten years on and the wrinkles and furrows are not only earned by the age and travel, but also by the controversial and polarizing policies of his government. Any discussion on Blair would be incomplete without Iraq. Undoubtedly, the most divisive and unpopular policy of Blair has been on Iraq. His popularity and standing as a leader reached its nadir with the manner in which Blair aligned himself with President Bush and by extension Bush’s neo-con agenda. The unenviable title of a poodle was bestowed on Blair thanks to his unwavering support for the trans-Atlantic friendship. This rather one sided friendship seems to have ended badly not only for Blair but also for George Bush, who is seeing rock-bottom popularity polls on his leadership. The complete surrender of Britain’s foreign policy to the US was at show in the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg earlier this year when a mic accidentally left on recorded the exchange between Bush and Blair. Blair was seen taking Bush’s permission on whether to intervene in the recently erupted Israel-Lebanon conflict. Bush summarily dismissed his viewpoint and told him that Condoleezza Rice would handle it. The world saw the beginning of the end for Blair that very day. Further, his failure to ensure a clear exit strategy for British troops in Iraq further brought mistrust into the British voter about Mr. Blair’s intention in Iraq. His recent siding with the Americans on the Middle East crisis and his line on Iran’s nuclear ambitions have made him a virtual spokesperson for American rather than British foreign policy.

Apart from the obvious unpopularity of the war in Iraq, domestic policies and intra-party scandals have rocked the Blair government. Blair had won election after election with his “New Labour” mantra following the “third way” to break away from the traditional Socialist leanings of the Labour party to the more centrist and market oriented New Labour. However, a decade on, many of his policies saw the virtual bankruptcy of the National Health System, fewer spending on education and further increase in crime. More importantly, the ethnic strife in Iraq was not the only sectarian worries on Blair’s mind. The aftermath of the war in Iraq and the 7/7 bombings, along with unpopular measures like racial profiling have further alienated the diverse minorities that make up the UK. His regime saw the rise of home grown jehadis along with race violence and increased ghettoisation of the Muslim community. How Britain plans to tackle this after Blair and still into the war on terror remains to be seen. Also, a spate of ministerial goof ups and scandals left Blair red in the face many a times. Be it Deputy Prime Minister’s John Prescott’s love affairs or that of former Home Secretary David Blunkett, or the embarrassing situation of having your Foreign Minister Jack Straw openly dissenting on the Prime Minister’s foreign policy, Blair has seen it all.

But whatever the criticisms, Blair always will have a special place in most people’s minds. The very thought of young dynamic leaders, though plenty in the West, are a rarity in our part of the world. Every Indian looked at Blair and wished the day would come when young leaders decide the future of an emerging India. Also, under Blair, India did get special attention, and relations have been good with Blair at the helm. While Blair, may have decided to quit, ten years into the New Labour dream, the world is watching whether it will be more of the same under Gordon Brown. Or will history repeat itself and, after a 10-year Labour reign, will another young 40 year old, this time from the Tories, David Cameroon, beat the ‘boring’ Brown to live the “New Tory” dream. One shall see.