Somewhat confused

[chickenfeet]

I'm a bit puzzled by the strident behaviour of the Blairites in the last few days. What have they got to gain by Blair staying on? Surely their interests are best served by a fairly bloodless transition to Brown? After all, as George Galloway memorably put it, :they are two cheeks of the same arse". If/when Brown takes over little will change in terms of policy and not much in terms of personnel. On the other hand the longer Blair continues, the greater the discontent and division in both party and country and Brown is forced to either be seen to be backing Blair, which increases the chances of a genuine leadership challenge and, probably, hurts the chances of a Brown led Labour Party in the next election, or to be more or less quietly mutinous which will raise questions about his integrity. So why would a Blairite not be pressing Tony to go, at least in private? Is it all just about egos?

Comments

[tigerbeard.livejournal.com]

Is it all just about egos?

Personally I believe it is. I think it's got to the point where Blair simply cannot give up the power and I suspect that there are a whole bunch of supporters who would sooner go down with the ship than risk losing valuable positions within the current administration when the leader changes.

My prediction is that he'll have to be pushed. I see shades of Thacher all over again - and not for the first time.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

There was a reason for the icon!

[unblinkered.livejournal.com]

And what a wonderful icon it is, too!

You know, I still remember the day in May 1997 when I sat under a tree in Glasgow, reading the election analysis in the Guardian and scaring my bf by loudly rejoicing (he had managed to block out that I was interested in politics up until then). Maybe it was the naïveté (or naivety, whichever you prefer) of youth, but I really thought things were going to change for the better.....bugger. Now I'm stuck with a bunch of jokers in Ireland, but I least I know what to expect from them!

[atpotch.livejournal.com]

It's interesting, though mischievous, to allot some of Blair's stickiness, (over and above the coverall that a taste of power is potent), to his latent desire to see the nearest thing he has to a natural successor, David Cameron, as the next long-serving prime minister. Given that the Blairites themselves, however, would lose their jobs in this situation, their behaviour is more puzzling.

TCH

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Blair's behaviour doesn't puzzle me at all. It's clear he has a severe case of Messiah complex. His supporters ae another matter. It's hard to attribute their behaviour to something like loyalty given what a bunch of shits they are.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

I reckon that if Blair were to announce a timetable to change, it would immediately become unworkable: he would have no power to implement the timetable.

He therefore needs to keep it private - maybe even only between him and Gordon - to make it workable.

I predict that at some point he will simply resign and start the process of change.

It remains to be seen whether there will be any competition for the job.

[ceruleanblue3.livejournal.com]

The impression i get from here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4983484.stm) is that Blair just thinks he really is that indispensible. I think he should just go. He shouldn't have stayed as long as he has anyway.

[gillo]

I rather think they hope that if he hangs on long enough one of them will be anointed instead of Gordon. Then they can distribute the pickings amongst themselves without having to share with those nasty Brownites. Somebody like two-brains Milliband will look almost old enough to vote in a few years....