A lot of the recent news coverage over the last week and so far this week has been about Tony Blair heading towards becoming Europe's first President. The main jist of it, as predicted, are the pro's and con's of him taking on this role.
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkl, was supposedly against Mr Blair due to his decisions not to back EU projects such as the euro and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. However it is rumoured that Ms Merkl has since softened her opposition, whilst French President Sarkozy has reportedly decided that Mr Blair is the best candidate.
However, the main opposition, again as predicted comes from The Conservatives. William Hague, The Shadow Foreign Secretary and former leader of The Tories who suffered a heavy defeat against Blair in 2001, has slammed the decision, labelling it "the worst option for Britain" (The Times). But although it was fairly obvious that The Tories would be against a Blair Presidency due to his obvious Labour connections, I find myself having to agree with a lot of their reasons.
If, the people of Britain vote in favour of a Conservative government, I can't see there being many happy voters if there is a member of the party they have just ousted in charge of Europe. And with all due respects, Mr Blair wasn't the most popular figure at the end of his reign as Prime Minister.
It certainly creates an interesting debate and is something I will look to pursue as the coverage continues.
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkl, was supposedly against Mr Blair due to his decisions not to back EU projects such as the euro and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. However it is rumoured that Ms Merkl has since softened her opposition, whilst French President Sarkozy has reportedly decided that Mr Blair is the best candidate.
However, the main opposition, again as predicted comes from The Conservatives. William Hague, The Shadow Foreign Secretary and former leader of The Tories who suffered a heavy defeat against Blair in 2001, has slammed the decision, labelling it "the worst option for Britain" (The Times). But although it was fairly obvious that The Tories would be against a Blair Presidency due to his obvious Labour connections, I find myself having to agree with a lot of their reasons.
If, the people of Britain vote in favour of a Conservative government, I can't see there being many happy voters if there is a member of the party they have just ousted in charge of Europe. And with all due respects, Mr Blair wasn't the most popular figure at the end of his reign as Prime Minister.
It certainly creates an interesting debate and is something I will look to pursue as the coverage continues.
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