British Prime Minister Tony Blair's attempt to halt speculation
about when he will step down appeared to have backfired on Sunday
as the debate raged more feverishly than ever.
Senior ministers were reported to be determined to tell Blair he
must give a clear timetable for his departure while a survey found
dozens of members of parliament from Blair's Labor Party wanted him
to set out his exit plans at the party's annual conference later
this month.
Blair returned from a Caribbean holiday determined to end
discussion of when he will hand over power, a topic that fascinates
British politicians and the media but which Blair allies see as
damaging to the government.
In office for nine years, Blair has said he will not seek a
fourth term and will give his successor, expected to be finance
minister Gordon Brown, ample time to settle in before the next
general election, expected in 2009.
Most members of the ruling Labor Party expect him to stand down
as party leader and prime minister in 2007 or 2008. But, despite
intense pressure, Blair, 53, has refused to announce a date
publicly, believing it would turn him into a lame duck.
Blair dashed the hopes of many Labor members by insisting in an
interview with The Times on Friday he had no intention of saying
more about his future either before or during the Labor Party
conference that opens on September 24.
"I've said I'm not going to go on and on and on ... Now at some
point I think people have to accept that as a reasonable
proposition and let me get on with the job," Blair said.
Some Labor members fear that if Blair doesn't give a timetable,
it will hurt the party in Scottish, Welsh and English local
authority elections next May.
Blair's popularity has plunged after a series of government
scandals over sleaze and mismanagement, and controversy over the
Iraq war. Opinion polls show Labor well behind the opposition
Conservatives -- resurgent under youthful, pro-environment leader
David Cameron.
Debate flares
If Blair hoped his statement would kill off the leadership
debate, he was mistaken as it has flared with renewed vigor.
The Independent on Sunday newspaper said senior
ministers planned to confront Blair at the next cabinet meeting
over his refusal to commit to a departure timetable. Other reports
said some Labor members of parliament were discussing signing an
open letter pleading with Blair to say when he will step down.
BBC radio's "The World This Weekend" program polled
rank-and-file Labor members of parliament and said 39 of the 68 who
responded wanted Blair to set out a timetable at the party
conference for standing down.
Paul Murphy, a Labor member of parliament from Wales, told the
BBC it was very important to have clarity on the leadership
question before the Welsh elections next May.
Allies of Blair and Brown, the powerful finance minister,
battled it out in the newspapers.
?
Stephen Byers, a Blair ally and former cabinet minister, issued a
thinly veiled challenge to Brown in the Sunday Telegraph to outline
his vision of the Labor Party if he wanted to lead it.
Treasury minister Ed Balls, a close ally of Brown, wrote in The
Observer that everyone in Labor had a responsibility to get the
leadership transition right, suggesting that a lack of unity could
play into the hands of the Conservatives.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies September 4, 2006)
