By Dr. Ludwig De Braeckeleer
Monday, June 25, 2007
Next Wednesday, Tony Blair will step down as Prime Minister. British Treasury chief, Gordon Brown, will succeed him. There has been much speculation about Mr. Blair future.
According to a White House official, Mr. Blair has discussed with President Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice the possibility to become a Middle East envoy.
On both side of the Atlantic, senior administration sources have reported that Mr. Blair is interested. Officials have denied the story.
The PM's official spokesman said that speculations about Blair future were inaccurate. White House officials acknowledge the discussions, which they describe as preliminary, but refuse to comment on Mr. Blair interest.
According to the Washington Post, behind the scene negotiations have begun about two months ago.
"Obviously Prime Minister Blair has been very active and deeply involved in Middle East peace issues throughout his prime minister-ship," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
"It would not surprise me if they have talked about what Prime Minister Blair would like to do following the end of his term... but we don't have anything to announce today," she added.
According to BBC's Jonathan Beale, the U.S. Administration proposal has gained the support of both Israel and the Palestinians. Beale does not say which Palestinian group the U.S. refers to.
Although Mr. Blair enjoys a good relationship with President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as with his Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, he is quite unpopular with many Palestinians as a result of his strong pro-Israel stance, his active role in the Iraq war and his silence during the Israel attacks on Lebanon.
"Most important of all, Tony Blair, and his top aides, have signed up to this. It looks like this is going to be Tony Blair's next job and it looks like Tony Blair wants this job... that is the message I am getting from officials in Washington," Beale said.
According to information leaked from the ongoing discussions, Blair would not be Bush envoy in the Middle East but would represent the quartet (US, EU, UN and Russia) as well as some mediating institutions from the Middle East.
His primary mission would focus on "issues limited to the internal workings of a future Palestinian state." Mrs. Rice will remain in control of political negotiations with the various parties involved.
The al-Jazeera TV news network has reported that Mr Blair will accept the position. The news is somewhat confirmed by the Israeli government.
"Officials in the prime minister's office are aware of this idea and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is very supportive of Prime Minister Blair and of his continuing involvement in the Middle East and the peace process," said Miri Eisin, the Israeli government spokeswoman.
The news could be announced soon. Five years ago, on June 24th 2002, Bush gave a speech in which he called for the creation of an independent Palestinian State. US officials say that Bush may give an anniversary speech and announce Blair new role.
The US State Department spokesperson has revealed that during this week visit to the White House, Olmert has agreed on the need to "lay the groundwork for a Palestinian state that would build up the Palestinians' institutions and economic capacity so that when the state is eventually created it will be able to function as a well-governed state."
If he accepts the mission, Mr. Blair will succeed, albeit with expanded powers, to former World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn who resigned after 13 months on the job. Wolfensohn strongly opposed the cut-off of US aid to Palestine after the victory of Hamas in the last election.
Mr. Wolfensohn predicted that the sanctions would bring the collapse of the Palestinian government and create a political vacuum that no State or international organization would be able to fill.
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