Blair's Guest Appearance

by Graham Davies

Today, I almost felt sorry for Tony Blair. Almost. Until I remembered the size of his bank account.

The speech in his old constituency didn't have particularly special content. His core Micro- Statement was merely a re-hash of an old theme: in a crisis, the country is better off with a safe and experienced pair of hands holding the keys of 10 Downing Street.

The distinctive over-emphasis of key words was still there as was the equally distinctive perma-tan. But a new feature was a strange mid-Atlantic accent. He sounded like an Americanized British Rock Star. In public speaking terms, that is precisely what he is.

No Blair speech will have a significant effect on the election. But each one reminds his corporate client base of how affably available he is. Nice marketing, Tony.