American Politics Journal

The View From Europe
Off to a Rocky Start
By Nicola Mitchell

Jan. 7, 2002 -- LONDON (APJP) -- As the bells chimed to bring in a new year, we all paused for a moment to pray we would not see a repeat of the dark scenes that played out over the final months of 2001, but with tensions continuing to mount between India and Pakistan, we're certainly not home free yet.

For Tony and Cherie Blair, the new year signaled the revival of the prime minister's shuttle diplomacy missions.

Like all of his previous diplomatic efforts, Blair's latest mission to India and Pakistan, in which he claims he is to play a calming role, is co-ordinated -- some may say controlled -- by the White House.

It is such public displays of co-operation that has prompted the Wall Street Journal to bestow Blair with the title "America's newest and brightest Ambassador." But despite the revival of old titles, Blair's trip is more that mere resurrection of co-operation between Britain and America; it also marks Blair's re-emergence on the world stage since his public humiliation at the hands of the Syrian President at a joint press conference in Damascus back in October. Furthermore, this trip is also a chance for Blair to build bridges with India's prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, after it was reported Blair offended him by spending more time in Pakistan during his last visited to the troubled region.

Although Blair may have resurrected his career on the world stage, this week has also seen the re-emergence of the age old arguments which say Blair is neglecting his real job -- that of leader of the UK.

The past week has also seen a number of significant events across Europe.

Firstly, there has been the launch of the Euro. Those taking part have hailed the new currency as a huge success and such declarations only serve to heap pressure on the UK government to make their position on the Euro clear -- something, Blair's critics say, which can not be done while the prime minister is abroad trying to sort out the problems of other countries.

The Blair government came to power in 1997 as a direct result of voter apathy towards the Tories and the general legacy (many would say mess) left behind by Margaret Thatcher. The New Labour government pledged to reform health services and promised "education, education, education." But now, almost 5 years later, our schools are dilapidated and overcrowded, our National Health services are in crisis, and our rail services are falling apart at the seams.

While Blair was away, a 4 day rail strike crippled London's transport system. You would think Blair's absence at such a time would be eased by the transport secretary, Stephen Byers -- but alas, he is still on his holidays somewhere in southern India. Maybe he's going to try his hand at peace negotiations too!

So while Britain tries to pin down the exact locations of half its politicians (even the foreign secretary went AWOL for a time), it's good to see that 2002 has also signaled a bumpy start for the Bush administration in the shape of the Enron 'scandal'. Maybe now at least we'll finally see where Bush's dubious energy policy came from.

Finally, despite the problems being faced by the British government, over here all thoughts are with the UK Chancellor Gordon Brown, his wife Sarah and their daughter Jennifer, who was born 7 weeks prematurely and is now fighting for her life in hospital.

Perhaps the start of 2002 hasn't been as pleasant as we all hoped, but there's plenty of time left for a change of fortune.