Poll: Tony Blair as 'EU President'? Has the world gone mad?!?

[petrolinus]

Very nice post, and welcome to the Escapist. Good to have some actual explanation on this post rather than simple "back off brussels!" or "argh, Blair" reactions. [...]

Well thank you, and thank you. =)

While I agree with your assessment of why Europe would reject Blair (though frankly you could have stopped at his nationality), I do think he would make a very good President. Mainly is his charisma, there's nothing worse that a drab leader, it makes sound policies flounder for lack of interest (yes, you Ban Ki-Moon). Blair would provide a political nexus that could bring the EU into a greater international position. [...]

Yeah, you have a point there considering his charisma - especially if one compares Blair to his unfortunate succesor...
However, he would need the support of the majority (or a large part) of Europe's population. I'm from Germany, for example, and the general opinion about Blair here is still largely biased by his involvement in Iraq (as far as I've seen it). However, I don't really know about the situation in other European countries.

[...] He's high profile enough to actually get through to people directly. The EU is corrupt because no one scrutinises, no one scrutinises it through general lack of diplomatic involvement. More people being involved would hopefully shed more light onto the workings of the system and clean it up a little. With more scrutiny, people would become better able to trust the EU more, and so scepticism would be reduced. [...]

I agree. There have recently been elections for the EU parliament, and some people I know didn't even know who to vote for when they went to the election office (if they went there at all). The general attitude was that nobody really cared... possibly because most people didn't know what that parliament actually did: In the news, they repeated that and that it's important to participate ad nauseam.

But then again, I'd be surprised if Blair could actually change that. It's not that there were few people (directly) involved in EU decision making. Possibly though, the UK wouldn't be able to keep up their reluctance with EU matters when Blair would actually take office.

[...] As EU pres he would likely advocate greater EU control, centralising not out of ideology, but simply as it makes him the fulcrum of power yet again.

That would be about a 180-degree turn for Blair, but in politics, anything can happen after all.

 

[Overlord_Dave]

You're missing a poll option.

I don't think Blair is 'brilliant'... but don't think he's just 'ok' either.

I do think he's one of the bets prime ministers we've ever had.

 

[tk1989]

Eh? what was wrong with Blair?! he was brilliant! he accomplished quite a bit in his time in office.

Such as?

Sorry, i just can't think of a single thing he's ever done that was a good decision.

Only thing i begrudgingly respect him for is the skill he showed abandoning ship just before the s**t hit the fan for the economy.

Im sorry, but Blair was a pretty good PM. He left Britain in a better state than it had been 10 years earlier when he came to power. British people enjoyed uninterrupted economic growth, he pushed through a lot of public reform and now there are fewer crappy schools and hospitals, more children are getting better grades and going to university.

Bair helped make Britain a more tolerant place; we now have a civil rights bill and civil partnerships between homosexuals are now recognised. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales now have a degree of self-governance, extending democracy. There is now peace in Ulster, which was a massive achievement... London has become one of the most dynamic cities in the world; embracing globalisation it has become a world business capital, and Blair did more than any other world leader in forcing people to take notice to poverty in Africa and global warming.

Granted he had some disappointing moments (his first time was quite a waste), but he achieved a lot in his time in office. If you dont believe he ever made a good decision then you are clearly blind.

 

[koichan]

Im sorry, but Blair was a pretty good PM. He left Britain in a better state than it had been 10 years earlier when he came to power. British people enjoyed uninterrupted economic growth,

thats highly debatable.
economic growth - yes
sustainable economic growth - no way

As with many things Labour has done, it's another case of short-termist thinking. "who cares if this is storing up immense problems for the future, it makes me look good now"
As i said earlier, the economic growth was on the back of an out of control finance industry and a credit-fuelled house price bubble.
Both utterly unsustainable medium to long term.

Blair saw that it was about to fail, jumped ship and set Brown up as a scape-goat to take the blame - something he was very successful at
But there's no way you can look at that economic record as a good thing, it's directly caused Britain to be one of the worst-hit countries in Europe by the credit-crunch

he pushed through a lot of public reform and now there are fewer crappy schools and hospitals, more children are getting better grades and going to university.

Again highly debateable.
Both the NHS and the schooling system have suffered greatly under him, his obsession with stats, targets and testing at the expense of everything else is horrible.

ie. doesn't actually matter how good it is, as long as the stats say it is.

The ludicrously expensive failure of the NHS new IT system and the new 'top-heavy' management system (nurses/doctors? nah, more management!) deserves a mention too.

Improved - no, it'd be better off if he hadn't touched either.

For the university thing, yes many people are going now, but that just means many people getting pushed into severe debt at a young age due to the tuition fees.

Bair helped make Britain a more tolerant place; we now have a civil rights bill and civil partnerships between homosexuals are now recognised. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales now have a degree of self-governance, extending democracy. There is now peace in Ulster, which was a massive achievement... London has become one of the most dynamic cities in the world; embracing globalisation it has become a world business capital, and Blair did more than any other world leader in forcing people to take notice to poverty in Africa and global warming.

i may have to give you that one though.
still, i'd prefer he hadn't broken so many other things.

at absolute best, the UK has had a 'one step forwards, several steps back' experience over the past decade.

 

[blipblop]

At present, the President-in-Office of the European Council is the member of the European Council belonging to the state which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which rotates every six months. The position has no executive powers, the President just chairs the Council and represents it, and the EU, abroad (attending G8 summits for example). Under the Treaty of Lisbon, the position would become a fixed, two-and-a-half year post held by someone appointed by the European Council members, to whom the President is accountable. It would gain no new executive powers however and would be primarily administrative. It would have defined foreign policy roles. This position has attracted the name of "President of the European Union" the most in the media, especially in relation to who will be the first to fill the post.

stolen from wiki^

 

[Jamous]

What is the EU President anyway!?!?! But he really shouldn't be allowed in, the corrupt fuck.

There is no such job.

Do you mean President of the European Commission or President of the European Council?

Honestly before you whine you should know what you are whining about.

Honestly, they're apparently making it an office. No idea why.

 

[Vuljatar]

This makes my skin crawl.