The summary at this hour: Labour wins majority, but greatly reduced. Blair's political legacy is tarnished; the handover to Gordon Brown is just a matter of time.The results will be interpreted to reject Blair's alliance with President Bush and the invasion of Iraq.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Blair Back--As Lame Duck
British voters let Tony Blair stay at Number 10, but the PM's being blamed for losing 6 percent of the electorate and at least 44 seats. The Conservatives took almost 30 additional seats; Lib-Dem gained about 10. Jim Geraghty says:
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5 comments:
More like 100 seats.
I'm not sure what you are trying to prove by repeating Tory spin (the "lame duck" crack).
In America, "lame duck" has a specific meaning, and originally referred to the post-election period before a _transfer_ of power.
If you'd like to offer some insight as to why, I'm all ears.
Perhaps you are referring to Gordon Brown's eventual hold of the PM mantle? Oh yeah, _that's_ what you meant.
Blair is a "lame duck" because he is going to voluntarily hand over power, when he feels like it, at some time in the future.
'Lame Duck' my ass.
He has the same numbers Margaret Thatcher had- and she did just fine.
Josh:
Your prediction was off by 100 percent. With only 2 seats unreported, the incoming parliament is--
Labour: 335
Tory: 197
Lib-Dem: 62
SC&A:
I like it! Thinking positively. And you're right that -- in some ways -- the Thatcher years were similar, with Tory majorities of 339-269, 397-209 and 376-229 in in 1979, 1983 and 1987 respectively. Still, as I predicted, the results have been read as a rebuke to Blair's alliance with America in Iraq even by American conservatives.
Josh is right -- take note, because it's a first -- that it will speed the transfer of power to Brown. Josh is wrong to imply that a "voluntary . . . future" retirement isn't consequential: anyone who knows anything about Blair is that he is, in Gerard Baker's words, "a clever, unprincipled, poll-driven political huckster." Were it up to Blair, he'd be PM forever.
Were it up to me -- unless the Tories can coalesce around the "Norway Option" and withdraw from the EU while staying in EFTA -- forever might be fine with me. Unfortunately, the elections suggest Blair will be lucky to last 18 months.
Carl,
Sorry about that, they lost 47, but their majority has slipped by more than 100.
Nice scoreboard link.
Josh:
Thanks; I should have figured out our mis-communication.
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