The non-event has been announced. Blair, forced into a political corner by the dissension of once loyal cabinet members and backbenchers fearful of losing their Parliamentary salaries come the next election, has finally stated what everyone already knew: that he would be gone from office within the year. I'll hazard a guess that May 2007 - marking the tenth anniversary of his Premiership - will be a nice round figure for him to bow out on.
It was always a given that he would bow out midway through his term of office, to allow the incoming Labour Leader to make his or her mark on the electorate in time for the election in 2009 or 2010, but no politician consumed by so much self-regard likes to be forced to play his hand.
Will it be Brown, Milburn, Clarke, Straw, Reid, Milburn, Beckett or *bless* McDonnell to replace him as Labour Leader and PM? Well, a lot is going to happen between now and next year, and who can guess who will ascent the political greasy pole come next year. Question is, will they be playing out the role of a 21st century Jim Callaghan or will they do a Paul Keating? (Don't ask.)
The link above is to an article from the November 1998 Socialist Standard. I've posted it because, apart from being an excellent example of political invective, it serves a reminder to the buzzwords so beloved of the Labour Government - long since disappeared from it's lexicon - in its early years, when it considered itself fearless and unstoppable, and it also serves as a reminder that all political careers ultimately end in failure.
That's reassuring for a dyed in the wool SPGBer.
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