Tony Blair hit Calgary a few days ago, like the Red River Flood hit southern Manitoba in the spring of 1997, with a big splash. He was the newly minted fresh faced British Prime Minister installed on May 2 1997. He was young, contemporary, and a breath of fresh air for the British Isles. He seemed to be just the right antidote to the stuffy and stiff John Major Government from the left over days of the Margret Thatcher era. He seemed to have a pulse and vision and the youthful energy to re-vitalize and turn the United Kingdom around for a place in the 21st Century.
His handling of the death of Princess Diane with empathy and grace created an early bond with his fellow countrymen and people of the entire world.
Not since the days of Churchill, did Britain have such an articulate spokesman or master of the English language.The British economy performed well and he helped to negotiate the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, after 30 years of conflict. He appointed the venerable Robin Cook as his Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Cook announced, to much scepticism, his intention to add "an ethical dimension" to foreign policy. Thus the ship of State that seemed on course, made a swift turnabout when Blair single handily supported United States foreign policy. He encountered fierce criticism as a result, over the policy itself and the circumstances in which it was decided upon. Then Robin Cook resigned from his post, in protest against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Following pressure from his own Labour Party, and the British public, Blair publicly stated he would step down as party leader. Thus a promising legacy in the style of the Kennedy’s vanished forever.
"I often say to people that Canada will become one of the most powerful nations in the world," the former leader of Great Britain said to a crowd of 2,400 people in Calgary. Unfortunaly it is all a little meaningless, when your creditability is shot, Tony.
His handling of the death of Princess Diane with empathy and grace created an early bond with his fellow countrymen and people of the entire world.
Not since the days of Churchill, did Britain have such an articulate spokesman or master of the English language.The British economy performed well and he helped to negotiate the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, after 30 years of conflict. He appointed the venerable Robin Cook as his Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Cook announced, to much scepticism, his intention to add "an ethical dimension" to foreign policy. Thus the ship of State that seemed on course, made a swift turnabout when Blair single handily supported United States foreign policy. He encountered fierce criticism as a result, over the policy itself and the circumstances in which it was decided upon. Then Robin Cook resigned from his post, in protest against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Following pressure from his own Labour Party, and the British public, Blair publicly stated he would step down as party leader. Thus a promising legacy in the style of the Kennedy’s vanished forever.
"I often say to people that Canada will become one of the most powerful nations in the world," the former leader of Great Britain said to a crowd of 2,400 people in Calgary. Unfortunaly it is all a little meaningless, when your creditability is shot, Tony.
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