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Tony Blair: Labour Party
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Which part of the political spectrum Tony Blair occupies is disputed. Many Britons would place him in the centre ground. His party (Labour) is a socialist political party, and Conservatives consider him left of centre. Yet some of his Labour-party backbenchers and other Left-wing critics would place him to the right of centre. Blair rarely applies such labels to himself, though he promised, in advance of the 1997 election, that New Labour would govern "from the radical centre", and he is on record as describing himself as a " social democrat".
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Blair shifted British politics toward the "permanent campaign" style introduced in American politics by Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. The techniques for campaigning became somewhat merged with the techniques of governing, as symbolised by the way Blair announced monthly "meet the public" sessions, to attract popular support in addition of course to his appearances in Parliament. Many of those in charge of Labour's campaign communications were transferred to Number 10, with the aim of adopting the same techniques in government. Thus some of Blair's new ministers were instructed that press briefings had to be cleared centrally with Peter Mandelson, Blair's aide.[85] Needham (2005) argues that the "permanent campaign" reached its apogee in the incumbent communications strategies of Bill Clinton in the U.S. and Tony Blair. Their assiduous courting of public opinion while in office has been used to explain both the high approval ratings of these leaders and their unpopularity for long periods of their incumbency. This apparent paradox suggests that the permanent campaign model is too blunt an instrument to usefully describe or evaluate incumbent communications.
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One of Blair's first actions in joining the Labour Party was to join Labour Friends of Israel. In 1994, a friend and former colleague of Blair at 11 King's Bench Walk Chambers, Eldred Tabachnik, Q.C. (one time president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews) introduced Blair to Michael Levy, later Lord Levy, a pop music mogul and major fundraiser for Jewish and Israeli causes, at a dinner party hosted by the Israeli diplomat Gideon Meir.[93] Blair and Levy soon became close friends and tennis partners. Levy ran the Labour Leader's Office Fund to finance Blair's campaign before the 1997 General Election and received substantial contributions from such figures as Alex Bernstein and Robert Gavron, both of whom were ennobled by Blair after he came to power. Levy was created a life peer by Blair in 1997, and in 2002, just prior to the Iraq War, Blair appointed Levy as his personal envoy to the Middle East. Levy has praised Blair for his "solid and committed support of the State of Israel"[94] and has been described himself as "a leading international Zionist".[95] In 2004, Blair was heavily criticised by 50 former diplomats, including ambassadors to Baghdad and Tel Aviv for his policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Iraq War.
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Before Britain could help the United States in the war against Saddam Hussein, Tony Blair faced a battle against his own voters, his own party, and his own allies in Europe. These were among the most tense and tumultuous weeks the world had seen since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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Tony Blair's touch was less sure with regard to the Millenium Dome project. The incoming government greatly expanded the size of the project and consequently increased expectations of what would be delivered. Just before its opening Blair claimed the Dome would be "a triumph of confidence over cynicism, boldness over blandness, excellence over mediocrity". In the words of BBC correspondent Robert Orchard, "the Dome was to be highlighted as a glittering New Labour achievement in the next election manifesto". The ultimate unpopularity of what should have been a fringe project meant that its failure had a political effect that far exceeded its intrinsic importance.
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In one of his final tour dates, at the Reuters news agency, Mr. Blair conceded that his administration had considered the media too much in its early years. He then unleashed a savage attack against the "feral beasts," those news organizations which put views (their own views) first, the news (his news) far behind, and which, as broadcasters and newspapers converged ever closer on the Web, would soon have to be equally controlled. Press reaction was, not surprisingly, hostile. Here was a man who used global 24/7 news deadlines and celebrity culture like a master, both as justification for spin and as its tool. The "Cool Britannia" party after his first election had brought the rock band Oasis to Downing Street. One of his farewell tour jokes was that when he left office, he himself would be "a former celebrity." This particular farewell concert was by far his worst -- like that of any '80s punk band, complete with snarling at the last Dom Perignon in the last dressing-room fridge.
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