Word: blaire
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...power, Prime Minister Blair was accused by critics of appearing too "presidential." He and his wife Cherie also gained a reputation for enjoying the trappings of power. As soon as Blair's name was linked with the European presidency, tabloids rechristened the pair "Boney Blair" and "Cherie Antoinette" after those high-handed continentals Napoleon Bonaparte and Marie Antoinette. (See the top 10 colorful First Spouses...
Here's a riddle: What unites French Socialists and British Conservatives and brings feminists together with the editors of prurient tabloid newspapers? Answer: Tony Blair. Across Europe, natural adversaries are finding common purpose in their efforts to stop Britain's former Prime Minister from assuming the role popularly known as President of Europe...
...better match the realities of its expanded membership, has set off a race for the E.U.'s top job. The treaty creates two powerful new positions: President of the European Council and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, effectively the E.U.'s Foreign Minister. Blair is seen as front runner for the presidency. (See pictures of the George W. Bush-Tony Blair friendship...
...might think Blair's international cachet would be cause for British hearts to swell with pride. But some of his most bitter opponents are homegrown. Opinion polls point to a Conservative Party victory in British parliamentary elections to be held before June 2010. The Tories will campaign on a Euroskeptic platform. A high-profile, high-powered E.U. President such as Blair would surely increase the influence of Brussels; many Conservatives also feel personal animus toward the politician whose success consigned them to the wilderness for so long. "Having President Blair would put us in a state of permanent warfare...
More damaging to Blair's prospects is the enduring anger over Iraq. Sometime in the coming months, a new British inquiry into the war will summon Blair to give evidence. Families of dead troops have called for him to be indicted as a war criminal. Blair's support for the U.S. on Iraq curdled public opinion outside his homeland too. François Hollande, the former first secretary of the French Socialist Party, has dismissed the idea of a Blair candidacy. The first President of Europe, he said, should be "politically autonomous from...