Tony Blair, you are the weakest link ...

Today, Bliar announced he is to quit as Prime Minister on 27th June. Good riddance (although, sadly, it means we've still got to put up with the right-wing, closet Tory, warmongering, capitalist bastard for another 7 weeks). Needless to say, I won't be "wanting more" as the media seem to think we will (RU listening Gordon Brown ?!?).

Across the English Channel, it seems to be a different story. The right-wing French Tory Sarkozy has won the French presidential elections, beating the Socialist Party (French equivalent of our Labour Party) candidate Royal (I never thought I'd prefer a Royal to a president!).

Among those to congratulate Sarkozy on his victory, with a fawning speech on YouTube, is none other than Tony Bliar. Hardly surprising really, Bliar has a long and sorry history of sucking up to right wing members of the Establishment, both at home and abroad.

The epitome of this is Bliar's craven support for the US president George W Bush, including sending our troops to fight in the murderous and immoral (and in the case of Iraq, illegal) wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But there are countless other examples.

Soon after Bliar entered Downing Street in 1997, he met Margaret Thatcher - the Tory prime minister responsible for butchering the coal and steel industry, taking us to war in the Malvinas, and privatising everything that wasn't nailed down. Since then, he certainly seems to have taken Mrs Thatcher's advice to heart!

In 2000, he praised Army chief General Guthrie for his appalling speech which sneered at the "culture of litigation" and belittled the idea that people with disabilities could be employed in the Armed Forces. (My views on the latter subject can be found my Disability and the British Armed Forces article on the Red Disability website).

Then in 2005, he was quick to defend Ian Blair, the chief of the Metropolitan Police, after the Brazilian worker Jean Charles de Menenzes was shot dead by the Metropolitan Police. (Thought you didn't like gangs with guns, Mr Bliar!)

Throughout his reign, he seems to have been a fan of the right-wing Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch, no wonder this government's policies sometimes seem to have been influenced by The Sun and the Snooze of the World newspapers :-(

Then there's the former Italian prime minister Silvio Burlusconi, who is not only a media baron (this time associated mostly with owning several TV networks in Italy), but who invited the fascist MSI and the (similar to the Ulster Unionists) Northern League, into his government coalition. Not to mention alleged links with the Mafia.

Ah well, I guess Bliar has at least admitted making a mistake. Not for taking us into the illegal war in Iraq, pissing on the working class by sucking up to the rich, or belting our civil liberties. His biggest mistake, he says, was being too soft on poor people and thinking he could solve anti social behaviour in poor areas by investment and increasing the living standards of the most deprived people in society! He now thinks he can hold back the tide of social decline, like a Cnut (the ancient Briton king that is!), by more repressive laws, increased use of ASBOs etc.

His resignation is long overdue. As I've already stated, however, I'm very sceptical whether Brown will be much better.

I'll be celebrating the end of Bliar. But the fight against Blairism goes on!

Joys of spring but bored with Bliar's arrogance

So Blair describes the recent election results as "a perfectly good springboard" for Labour to win the next general election, does he?

Whether or nor Labour escaped a "rout", it was hardly a resounding victory, even less a resounding endorsement of his policies (or those put forward by Gordon Brown)!

By contrast, I am moderately encouraged by the results, at least in England and Wales. (Not so in Scotland, sorry to see Tommy Sheridan and the newly formed Solidarity party fail to gain any seats there).

Don't get me wrong, it's not the Tory gains that are encouraging for me. As I've already stated earlier, I don't see the Tories as a preferable alternative to New Labour. But I am pleased with the gains Respect has made (eg in Shirebrook), and the gains by other parties to the left of Labour. Such as the Green Party, who have gained 17 seats nationally (and have 2 seats on Sheffield council).

I'm also pleased the Nazi BNP have failed to make the breakthrough many feared. In some areas they made unwelcome gains this year, such as North West Leicestershire, but in others - notably Burnley - they lost seats. Let's hope this year's gains for them are similarly short-lived!

As for Labour's prospects, they may have a hope of winning the next general election.

But not if they continue with Blairite policies :-P