The British election makes it three
British politics is another of the many topics on which my expertise is virtually non-existent.
But I just wanted to say that, about a year ago, on the eve of the Australian elections, I was pretty pessimistic. The three major allies of freedom and the fight against terrorism–as I saw it, anyway– were all coming up for re-election within the next year: Howard in Australia, Bush in the US, and Blair in Great Britain. I thought it very likely that all three would be defeated, and I felt that result might be disastrous for the cause of democracy around the world.
Well, we know what happened with the first two. And now we’ve got the results of the third. And yes, Blair’s majority could have been greater. But with the relentless drumbeat of negativity that’s been pounding ever since the Iraqi war, I’m willing to call this victory a victory, rather than a defeat.
The Freedom Trifecta. Or maybe a better metaphor would be the Freedom Hat Trick.
JollyFE,
Blair’s achievement is rightly conceived of as being historic, regardless as to whether he fulfills the entirety of his third term or not. Even Margaret Thatcher did not fulfill the entire span of her own third term. Too, it remains to be seen how Blair will manage, though your sum certain knowledge of the future is admirably intoned, unquestionably.
Hmmmmm-I don’t know how many people who view this blog manage to read foreign news services rather than our own “Fair and Balanced” news services [said in bitter sarcasm!] …but it appears to be a victory for the Labor Party ONLY! Not for Mr Blair…I highly recommend that “conserves” and “lis” alike search British news services for the following:
Prime Minister Tony Blair should quit, former cabinet ministers from his own Labour Party said Sunday, blaming Blair for the party’s sharply reduced majority in Britain’s national election.
Ya see-Unlike here in the Great U-S-of-A the British party system can and is very capable of removing thier “leader”. If only that was true with our party system.
Tony Blair has proved to be a friend to the USA and a man who sees Islamofascism for what it really is-a sinister attempt at world domination. People who come bearing bombs should expect what they receive-no mercy!!
So another Neocon , awsome.
Good post by the way, if the public is so against the war, then why did all three major countries involved, re-elect their leaders? Gotta love the MSM.
Z.
Actually, Italy corrected the rumour: it will cut troops when they are no longer needed.
As for a reduced majority, a cut from 160 to 97 is a difference almost without a difference, IMO. It’s an overwhelming endorsement by any rational standard. I hope TB uses his lame-duck status to ram through anti-subversive measures, now.
What about Spain and Italy? They had more troops than Australia, abd they both have pulled out or are preparing to pull out.
A hat trick has been missing since last September due to the NHL lockout so any hat trick is desirable. The one you refer to is a much more meaningful one however and an excellent observation.
Yes three, and in a sense (admittedly a qualitified and very specific sense) even the Spanish elections could be tallied as a fourth since it demonstrated a capitulation, among the marginal voters in Spain (not Spain as a whole), to the jihadists’ unabashed tactic of murder, mayhem and nihilism in general. So, in an inverted sense admittedly, Spain too witnesses to a certain warrant and prescription for dealing with the salafi jihadists.
(Aznar probably added a misstep to the mix as well, but Spain’s own confluence of essentially Left/MSM initiatives, between 3/11 and the ballot box, was the primary pivot point, using Aznar’s misstep, assumming it was substantial in the first place, as more of an additional excuse than the primary cause per se.)
http://timblair.net/ee/index.php/weblog/one_down_three_up/
Heh heh heh