American Politics Journal

The Thrill Is Gone...For Now
But will Tony Blair's domestic woes drive him back into George W.'s arms?
by Nicola Mitchell

Dec. 7, 2001 -- LONDON (APJP) -- There comes a time in every relationship when the cracks begin to appear.

For some it can be the stresses of a heavy workload coupled. For others it can simply be that they have outgrown a person and have decided to move on to pastures new, and it certainly seems that this is the current situation in which we find the great Blair-Bush love affair.

In recent months Blair has worked hard to secure the approval and admiration of his "good friend" Bush, but after his last trip to Washington he returned to Britain to find his cabinet submerged in problems. On his return to the UK he was greeted with the public announcement that one of his closest advisors and oldest friends, Anji Hunter, was to leave Downing Street for a lucrative career at BP. Of course Blair had known about the announcement for some time, but despite this prior knowledge he had to face days of media speculation as to the reason for the departure, all while coping with the loss of one of his most trusted aids. It was Hunter, along with a handful of others that Blair trusted who accompanied him on diplomatic missions, and her departure from his office is seen as a huge loss for the prime minister.

But Hunter was not the only employee Blair risked loosing on his return he was also met with calls for the resignation of his transport secretary Stephen Byers over his winding up of the controversial Railtrack company and his handling of spin and news management in conjunction with his advisor Jo Moore.

And as if the threat of loosing members of his cabinet wasn't enough, Blair was also welcomed back into the UK with renewed media frenzy about the alleged battles between himself and his Chancellor Gordon Brown. This so called war has been a subject of many column inches since Blair came to power. It is said he and Brown made a pact that Brown would not stand in Blair's way if he stood for the leadership of the Labour party, however, it was said the deal, sealed with a friendly handshake, was struck with the understanding that Blair would stand aside and make way for Brown to become PM half way through the second term, and obviously this hasn't happened.

So while Blair has been forced to sort out problems at home, for his part, it seems that Bush's affections have been drawn elsewhere and have manifested in the direction of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

The now infamous meeting of the two world leaders credited with the dubious titles of two of the most unpredictable men in politics signalled a definite turning point in the relationship between the two countries.

Since the Bush administration came to power there has been a distinct them and us attitude from both the administration and the rest of the world. The administration has been increasingly unwilling to compromise on any issues, whether it be missile defence, global warming or even money laundering, and this has angered many, particularly those in the EU. However, Putin's visit saw Bush finally give in to some "compromises", which is after all something every good relationship is built on.

In a bid to ease opposition to the missile defence shield, which coincidently hardly received any foreign press regarding its third "successful" test last weekend, Bush said he would eliminate two-thirds of the US offensive nuclear stockpile. But while Bush and Putin have been whispering sweet nothings to each other, Washington has been turning up the heat on Tony Blair as the continued offers of British troops has been pushed aside as Washington continues to pile on the pressure regarding extending the war against terrorism.

In the past few weeks the Downing Street stance on extending the war to other countries such as Iraq has taken a complete U-turn. Until now, the government has always been firmly against such an extension. However, earlier this week it was all change as the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon called for Sadam Hussein to let weapons inspectors in to Iraq, and even hinted that military retaliation could be an option if he failed to comply.

It now remains to be seen whether the government will be forced to back up their threats with actions as hawks in the Bush administration become more determined to get their own way.

For Blair, this kind of action may prove to be a way back into Bush's heart, but for now he is concentrating on healing the wounds in his own country by getting back down to his campaign pledges of revamping the national health service and the like, however, only time will tell if the presence of a third party in the relationship will cause permanent damage, or if the love affair between Blair and Bush can be put back on track.

After graduating from the UK's London Institute earlier this year where specialised in America politics, Nicola Mitchell has worked across all sections of the European media including print journalism and television, while continuing to be a keen observer of the political climate in both the US and UK.