President Blair?

[poliphilo]

I see Tony Blair is likely to become President of the EU.

My first thought was, "Oh my God, how can they possibly think of giving the job to that smarmy, venal crook?"

My second thought was, "Don't be so naive: all politicians are smarmy, venal crooks. Blair has charisma, he's a natural leader. He will give Europe real clout on the world stage."

I've always supported the EU. I know the government in Brussels/Strasbourg is bureaucratic, petty, wasteful, corrupt- but those things are matters of detail. The great thing about the EU- and what it was set up to do- is that it  has made the idea of war between the states of Western Europe all but unthinkable. When you consider European history-  how we've continuously mauled one another since the collapse of the Roman Empire- the past half century of peace is an all but miraculous achievement. 

Comments

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

And I thought my good old USA was the only loony outfit when they elected Bush II not only once, but TWICE! What kind of damage might Tony do to the EU? He and George were like twins that had been separated at birth.

[tf-1.livejournal.com]

I can't think how to put this eloquently, but consider how massive socialist projects have shown themselves to pan out. Think about China, Russia and Germany and all the lives terminated as a result. We're entering a period of massive erosion of civil liberties, a "post-democratic age" where political elites think they know how better to run our lives, and are being given carte blanche powers.
Why would anyone in their right mind give powers away to an unelected bunch of autocrats? It looks like history repeating.

Half century of peace is very questionable. What about all the millions of dead Iraquis and Afghans, for a start, thanks to illegal wars, a chief instigator of which is now tipped for EU presidency?

Out of interest, which socialist leader would you prefer to have lived (or died) under - Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler or Mao Zedong?
If Tony Blair did turn out to be the next name in this sequence, who are likely to be the next scapegoat - Muslims?