A Woman of Destiny: Europe Pres Should Have All Woman Shortlist

My learned friend Tom Harris MP has posted a wind up and link bait item entitled Blair, Cameron and Europe. In which he makes some kind of case for Blair and disses Camerwrong, Vague and Faux for being too bloody tribal and childish in throwing their toys.

Just because Blair's being coming down on Tory asses like a ton of bricks for ten years and more, argues Tom, and made Labour, or its new "improved" de-Claused version electable, doesn't mean a grown up opposition leader wouldn't support him as "the man for the job" etc.

Now, I've had issues with Blair throughout his tenure. I didn't think it had to be Blair to break through in 1997, Smith or Brown are among those who could also have won that one. And I certainly didn't believe that New Labour's programme had to be so distant from prior Labour cathechismo as the Project took it. He was and is actually rather Euro-sceptical whereas I'm enamoured and beschmitten. And of course I first demonstrated against Blair and Bush's wars before September 2001 was over.

But these nagging details don't figure in my first thoughts on the matter:

I’d much rather we had an AWS Tom. Mary Robinson, Helena Kennedy, Glenys Kinnock, Neelie Kroes, Sarah Brown, Shirley Williams and so on and so forth. Plenty of people could do the job of chairing and championing Europe and it would be a VERY GOOD THING if the first pick was a woman.
It is getting very irritating actually continually hearing so called progressive politicians talking about the “right man for the job”. In this case the “right man for the job” is in my view pretty likely to be a woman. And despite his being a class act and capable of doing a job of work Blair has more pies than fingers and should get on with some of his ten other jobs. IMO.
Obviously the fact he’s been a war mongerer and a my way or the highway bully would nudge any casting vote against him. If I had to get off the fence.

I've gone back and left a further comment. And I'd commend comrades and colleagues alike to read and inwardly digest the Harris oeuvre, and be sure to leave some comments there or here.

TRIVIA: Shock horror! The term suffragette was coined by ... The Daily Chuffing Mail! Disparaging, natch. According to Wikipedia, which is an enormously reliable source. And not in this case wrong. STOP PRESS: Latvians are putting up a woman!! Vaira Vike-Freiberga (71), their President for eight years to 2007. Hurrah!