Posted on 09/27/2006 10:42:37 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair has won ringing praise after his emotional farewell to the ruling party, including from former US president Bill Clinton, who hailed his "stunning" record.
But commentators agreed Wednesday that while Blair's Labour party has managed mostly to paper over its cracks during this week's annual conference, only the coming months will decide the fate of his successor and the party's future.
Clinton -- often compared to Blair as a charismatic leader of "Third Way" politics -- paid fulsome tribute to Blair's leadership when he took the stage as the star of the last full day of the Labour gathering.
"Your prime minister, your government, your party have been a stunning success," he told delegates.
"I want to say a special thank you publicly to my friend Tony Blair for his leadership -- his preservation of our old Atlantic alliance through quite a lot of storm as well as occasional sunshine," he added.
But as the Labour conference wound down, renewed questions were asked about whether finance minister Gordon Brown, the man widely tipped to take over from Blair within the year, can ever match up.
The issue of exactly when Blair will leave office also resurfaced after a possible challenger to Brown, Education Secretary Alan Johnson, said the prime minister had not given his "farewell concert".
"Ol' Blue Eyes will be back," he told BBC radio. "He's got gigs in Downing Street and in the Palace of Westminster, and a very important agenda that he set out yesterday about pursuing peace in the Middle East."
In his speech later, Johnson did not say he would stand against Brown but vowed to uphold Blair's "New Labour" vision and criticised David Cameron's revamped centre-right Conservative Party.
"We in Labour are the true social progressives and however hard they try to imitate our policies we will not let them destroy what we have built," he added.
Labour's 201,000-strong membership will hope that their party's fortunes will not follow the same path as Clinton's Democrats after his natural successor, Al Gore, took over in 2001 -- election defeat to a right-wing party.
The Sun tabloid, a Blair cheerleader since 1997, saw problems ahead in its editorial on Wednesday, likening Blair's departure to the way in which his Conservative predecessor Margaret Thatcher was dumped after 10 years in 1990.
"Has Labour gone stark staring mad? It is hard to reach any other conclusion after seeing the party stand and cheer the most successful leader they've ever had -- the man they've forced out of office," it said.
British newspapers contrasted Blair's hour-long swansong address with Brown's speech 24 hours earlier, suggesting Brown -- often seen as a dour and uncharismatic -- will have a tough time convincing of his suitability to lead.
Clinton, whose speech was punctuated with his trademark homespun humour to charm the Labour audience, praised Brown's "brilliant" handling of the economy, but he went no further in commenting on Labour's internal wrangling.
Leaving the venue, Clinton was asked by reporters who he wanted to follow Blair. He said only that he stood by his previous comment that he thought Brown would make "a good prime minister".
Challengers to Brown for the top job were not forthcoming this week but another Labour lawmaker threw his hat into the ring on Wednesday to succeed Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott as the party's number two.
Backbench member of parliament John Cruddas, a former deputy political secretary in Blair's office, joins Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain and constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman as declared contenders.
Prime Minister Tony Blair (L) stands next to former US president Bill Clinton after the latter's speech at the annual Labour Party conference at the GMEX Centre in Manchester, northwest England. Blair has won ringing praise after his emotional farewell to the ruling party, including from Clinton, who hailed his "stunning" record.(AFP/Carl De Souza)
You would think any pol worth his votes would stay far, far away from Clinton.
But Blair hasn't caught Bin Laden. < / sarc >
Originally I thought Blair was Clinton with an accent. However, to his credit, Blair as demonstrated character is some important areas.
Something which Clinton has never done.
We all know that Hillary has wanted to be president for years. Possibly, Bill was an inept president because he felt compelled to judge each step he took against what it would do to Hillary's chances of being elected president.
What a terrible position -- having to chose between the good of the country and the good of the spouse's political ambitions.
Sadly clinton is popular over here (don't see why myself), and thr labour left are luvy duvy with him.
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