The obsession with Tony Blair and the 'Third Way'

Why oh why oh why is there such an obsession with Tony Blair and the 'Third Way'? Last week, I had the pleasure of paying a visit to the Vice-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Takahiro Yokomichi. In the traditional grandure of his official residence, I and a group of young wannabee politicians spent an hour discussing (and attacking) the state of opposition politics in Japan. But, again and again the same question would be asked: "Should we not look to the British Labour Party--Tony Blair's 'Third Way' in particular--for inspiration?" It set me ablaze. It sullies the name of all honest thinking British citizens, and those members of Britain's Labour Party who have resisted the manic deception of a Blairite Government.

After 10 years of Mr. Blair, Britain's children have the worst quality of life in OECD and a pitiful grasp of basic mathmatical concepts; British blood soaks the Arabian sands; and hospitals are a dirty, disorganised disgrace. Is this 'Labour'? Tony still offers the same lame excuse. 'Twas the Conservatives that dunnit. Well, if Tony Blair wants to celebrate the length of his mammoth tenure, he must also accept responsibility for the state of the country during that time. While the Government magically transmogrifies spiralling national debt into "the economy is booming", other countries such as Japan buy the propaganda. A recent talk for Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) interns is entitled "The British Labour Party's PR campaigns: Lessons for the DPJ". If only this was just about advertising.

The truth is, recent Labour Government PR can be summed with two concepts. Spin and Deception. It is unclear who has been in who's pocket--Tony Blair or media-baron Rupert Murdoch--but Labour 'PR' has been characterised more by private, than public, relations with its media contacts. As starkly illustrated by the Iraq War, Blairite policy has also been one of massive self-deception. "I believed Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction," says Monsieur Blair. Whether this was willing deception or not (and, by God, most think it was), he was wrong. The traditional thing to do--especially with the blood of 600,000 Iraqis on his hands--would be to apologise for being completely wrong and resign. But no. Blair says he really believed it so he can't be blamed. This is Blairite PR. Somehow self-belief, however spurious, extends into the realm of fact.

I admit that this is pure polemic. Tony Blair is perhaps not an inherently evil man; there are many things he has done of which I approve. Making entry to museums free for example, was a jolly good thing. Yet, a stinking cynicism and distrust has soaked into the hearts of the British public. Japan--and the DPJ--should be careful not walk roughtrod over its citizens as Blair's campaigns have done to the British.

R J F Villar