January 26, 2003
Blair's Stand on Iraq Costs Him Popularity at Home
By WARREN HOGE
LONDON, Jan. 26 — Prime Minister Tony Blair's moralizing diplomacy, his tough talk on Iraq and his steadfast loyalty to President Bush have gained him acceptance in the United States and an invitation to Washington this crucial week, but they have cost him popularity at home and hard-won influence in Europe.
Opinion surveys show a majority of the British public questioning his aggressive posture against Baghdad and faulting him for being too subservient to the United States. Britons also increasingly accuse him of becoming distracted from the problems that vex them in their daily lives, like poor transportation, inattentive health services and rising street crime.
In an interview with David Frost on the BBC this morning, Mr. Blair reiterated his arguments for the need to disarm Saddam Hussein and to limit additional inspection time before action is taken to weeks rather than the months being sought by other European leaders.
In the hours that followed, the network conducted a call-in survey on whether viewers had been persuaded of the need to go to war, and 66 percent said no. A poll in The Sunday Times of London recorded 68 percent giving the same response to the question, "Has Tony Blair convinced you Saddam Hussein is sufficiently dangerous to justify war ?"
Abroad, Mr. Blair's projection of Britain's power in the world through its alliance with America is undercutting his parallel desire to leverage the country's power in its own region.
"The Europeans do not see Britain as a trustworthy partner anymore," said Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform, an independent group based in London. "Nobody wants to be seen holding hands with us in public, we're not kosher, we're not nice people to deal with." ...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/26/international/europe/26cnd-brit.html>
Carl
_________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus