Afternoon:
10°c
The fading fortunes of Tony Blair in his bid to become President of the European Council will please those offended by his threatened re-emergence.
But they may be forced to conclude, should the post go to one of the other candidates such as Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende, that Britain's interests would have been better served by having Mr Blair as the new EU President.
Mr Blair's chances have taken a serious knock with reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are set to oppose him.
Without the support of the leaders of the key axis of EU power, it is hard to see how Mr Blair can clinch the job which, despite his protestations, he so desperately wants.
Certainly Mr Blair would be a divisive figure. He is widely resented at home and abroad for his central role in the Iraq war; here, his duplicity over the "dodgy dossier" and other episodes still rankles.
And in Britain, many people are rightly angry about Mr Blair breaking his promise to hold a referendum on the new EU constitution: the Lisbon Treaty, which will create the post of President, is now almost certain to be approved.
Yet rightly or wrongly, that is where Britain now finds itself: in a more closely integrated Europe that will have its own President. David Cameron's mutterings about "not letting the matter rest" will make not a jot of difference.
In that situation, a strong, hugely experienced, British president in the shape of Mr Blair would be better for Britain, and for the British view of Europe - less federalist, more supportive of open economies - than any of the likely continental candidates.
Sir Paul's progress
In a week when Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has taken flak over the U-turn on armed patrols, it is worth stopping to consider the progress made by the soft-spoken Met chief in less than a year in post.
First, Sir Paul has already proved his style to be very different to that of his prickly predecessor, Sir Ian Blair.
Nowhere was this clearer than at yesterday's Metropolitan Police Authority meeting to discuss the armed police fiasco. Sir Paul apologised for the Met's failure to consult over the tactic - even though he had not himself even been involved in the decision to mount the patrols. That is a refreshing piece of humility.
At the same time, new figures on London's murder rate suggest very encouraging results for the Met in its battle against youth and gang crime.
So far this year there have been 97 murders, putting the capital on course for a year-long total of around 130, the lowest since the early Eighties. Last year's murder total was 157, while the figure hovered around the 200 mark from 1999-2004.
The Met puts this year's drop down to its focus on gang and teenage violence through the anti-knife drive, Operation Blunt, and other initiatives.
Ninety-seven murders is still a grim tally but it is tiny compared with US equivalents - and in a city of eight million people, it represents significant progress for police. Sir Paul deserves much credit for that success.
Green shoots
Signs of green shoots amid the recession are still patchy, which makes plans for the abandoned Leadenhall tower in the City all the more novel.
Developer British Land is shortlisting ideas for using the space: possible projects include new a temporary park while the tower remains on hold.
The City needs more green spaces. "Pop-up" restaurants are all the rage - why not pop-up parks, too?
Reader views (1)
That is exactly the point. By opposing Tony Blair, the Conservatives have made it more likely that the new President of the Council will be a federalist, David Cameron's worst nightmare. In addition, by leaving the EPP grouping to sit on the fringes with the 4th largest grouping, they have been excluded from the decision-making and the choice for the two plum jobs and the Commissioners will now be decided by the French/German axis in the EPP centre right group and the Spanish led socialist group. By their obduracy, the Conservatives may have achieved the worst of all worlds.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain, 30/10/2009 16:34
Report abuse
