The Day of the Long Knives
In a desperate attempt to regain his political authority, after suffering catastrophic defeat in the local elections, Blair has set about his party with an axe in an attempt to imply that the blame for the historic loss lies in areas other than the immediate vicinity of his own two shoulders.
I have seen seal culls that are less bloody.
Jack Straw has been demoted to Commons Leader. This indicates that he probably annoyed Blair with his comments that talk of invading Iran was, "nuts". He follows a respectable figure in being demoted to this office. This is exactly where Robin Cook was placed before the Iraq war forced him to resign from cabinet altogether.
Charles Clarke, who until two days ago was said to enjoy Blair's staunch support, has simply been fired.
John Prescott, his companion in shame over the past few weeks, remains in office but has lost all his departmental responsibilities. After the rumours that Blair was considering sacking him, Blair has wisely stepped back from that brink. If he had done so the parliamentary party would have destroyed Blair in very short order.
As it is, the reshuffle displays all the signs that Blair now knows events are moving with rapidity against him.
He moves John Reid into position as Home Secretary. Those of us who bemoaned Clarke's lack of libertarian values may soon feel his loss. Reid will be even more authoritarian than Clarke was, if past actions are any indication of future acts.
To emphasise that he will have no patience with objectors Blair has surrounded himself with only the staunchest of Blairites. Geoff Hoon, John Reid and Margaret Becket will form an ultra loyal Feyhadeen around Lord Blair of Kut al-Amara, as Fisk likes to call him.
The whole thing stinks of a desperate last throw of the dice by a man who would willingly destroy his party before he would relinquish it's reins.
We are now entering the last phase of Blair's premiership. Now his eyes scan the horizon, looking for any exit route that doesn't bear the legend "Iraq" above it.
Or maybe he'd like to do Bush one more favour and destroy Iran before he leaves office. It matters not, the Labour party have had enough. They suffered his right wing excesses because - no matter what else you said about Blair - he won. Now he has brought catastrophic loss, his days are numbered.
No matter who he tries to blame, he can no longer claim to be the party's lucky charm. And a Tony Blair that doesn't win, serves no purpose of any kind.
The winds of change are blowing through Downing Street.
Send word to Washington. The last man in Europe who supported Bush's war against Iraq is holed beneath the waterline.
HMS Blair is sinking, fast.
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