British Prime Minister Tony Blair just won a historical third
victory for the Labor Party in the British Parliament yet the
antiwar delegates from the back benches of the House of
Commons and the Muslims are demanding he step down from his
post right away.
Antisemitic propaganda influenced voters in London's Muslim
neighborhoods and in impoverished cities and left-wing
Laborites are out to get Blair's hide for his support of
Bush's international policy. In some districts and in
Northern Scotland war opponents and the antisemitic Liberal
Party defeated both Labor and Conservative candidates. In the
formerly Jewish East End, eggs were thrown at Jewish delegate
A. King in a Jewish cemetery before she was defeated by a
candidate who had been accused of receiving bribe money from
Saddam Hussein.
Despite the shouts behind his back, Blair announced the
formation of a new government that will advance his loyal
supporters. Two key ministers will retain their posts: Jack
Straw, who won the elections in Blackburn's Muslim quarter,
will remain Foreign Minister and Gordon Brown will remain
Finance Minister. Former Interior Minister John Reid has been
appointed Defense Minister.
Eleven of the 46 Labor delegates from the back benches who
were defeated, lost to delegates from the Liberal Democrat
Party who incited the public against the war in Iraq and in
favor of a pro-Arab platform. Other delegates were defeated
by war opponents who ran as independents or from small
parties. The delegates complained during home visits that
they were received with hatred for their war policy and
support of Bush.
Labor lost many districts—particularly in Scotland to
Liberals and in London to Conservatives—but retained a
majority of 66 seats in Parliament. Before it had a majority
of 161. War opponents apparently drew former Labor voters in
the heart of traditionally left-wing districts in Northern
England and Scotland. Left-wing delegates are asking Blair to
leave Iraq in order to return them to the party.
The Conservatives failed to recover even though they
increased by 33 delegates. Michael Howard, the Jewish
Conservative Party leader, announced his resignation a few
minutes after his failure became known, using his age as a
pretext. "I'll be 68 then and I won't be able to lead the
Conservatives to victory," said Howard.
His resignation caught everyone by surprise. On election
night more antisemitic remarks were fired at him from
Conservative headquarters. His resignation put a stop to the
antisemitic campaign against him. Speaking from Conservative
Party headquarters Christopher, a priest from Holland, said,
"No way can a Jew who has never tasted pork win elections in
Britain." Howard's grandfather was murdered in Auschwitz.
According to The Times, the press and Blair's election
advisors presented Howard as a bloodsucking vampire bat, but
he managed to extract the Conservatives from the gloom,
putting an end to their backslide by taking over 33 new seats
from the Liberals and Labor. In their election propaganda
left-wing Liberals called for the trouncing of the
Conservatives but in fact were themselves trounced by the
Tories in several districts. Liberal Democrat leader Charles
Kennedy, who bet on the war opponents, failed to get his
party off the sidelines and remained insignificant with a
mere 62 delegates.
Despite the unprecedented third victory Labor, especially the
party's left wing, is displeased with his policies and is
seeking to depose Blair, split from Bush and turn toward more
left-wing policies. Finance Minister Gordon Brown, who made
up with Blair before the elections, is waiting for his turn
and is pressing the Prime Minister to make way for him.
Reporters wrote that Blair has lost his popularity and no
longer represents hope. "People want change, they want new
faces," said delegates. His victory was attributed to a lack
of charisma among the Conservatives, who did not manage to
present themselves as an alternative to his rule. A cartoon
in The Times shows Brown standing on his skin. Blair's
advisors say that those who are demanding his resignation
have forgotten that he is the first Labor prime minister to
win a third term and that he led the party to a historical
achievement.
Blair is still considering whether he can serve all five
years of his term or whether he will be forced to resign in
another year-and-a-half or less. The doves who won seats have
promised to make Parliamentary life miserable for him. George
Galloway, the servant of Saddam Hussein and other Arab
dictators, defeated Oona King — a big supporter of
Blair — in the formerly Jewish neighborhood of Bethnal
Green in London's East End, which is now predominantly
Muslim. On election night Galloway celebrated his victory in
the deserted, dilapidated streets carried by supporters
chanting slogans in support of Arab dictators, Palestinians
and terror in Iraq. King accused his supporters of waging an
antisemitic campaign against her. During a memorial ceremony
for the 143 Jewish victims killed during German bombing raids
on the East End, a horde of Muslims began to rain eggs on
her.
In his victory speech Galloway called Blair a murderer. "The
defeat of all of the Labor delegates is due to the policy in
Iraq," he claimed. "All of the people you killed and the lies
you told have come back to haunt you. The right thing for
Labor to do is to sack Blair immediately."
Some East End residents appeared stunned by his victory.
"Galloway will make a big racket in Parliament, but who will
listen to him to provide us jobs and rehabilitate the
borough?" a Bengali resident said to reporters on the street.
The handful of native-born British still living in the East
End were alarmed over Galloway's victory, which reinforces
the already heated atmosphere in the Muslim and Arab
boroughs.
