|
|
|
 |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Posted on 04/12/2003 9:04:41 AM PDT by knighthawk
Tony Blair could pay an unexpected and unwelcome price for the war against Saddam Hussein, according to a Financial Times survey, which suggests that public anger with France's stand on the conflict could make it harder for him to win a euro referendum.
While the prime minister's personal standing has soared with crucial "swing voters", he will have a near-impossible task winning support among Conservative-turned-Labour voters if he calls a referendum on entry into the single currency, according to a focus group conducted for the FT by Opinion Leader Research.
The findings show that as campaigning gets under way for next month's local elections in England and legislature elections in Scotland and Wales, the prime minister is basking in the kind of Falklands-style victory that propelled Margaret Thatcher to her second term in office.
But hostility to euro membership has hardened as a result of the French and German decision to stay out of the war. While admiration has grown for the prime minister, participants in the New Labour-style focus group of "switchers" - former Tory voters who moved to Labour in 1997 - were unanimous in their view that it would be foolhardy to seek to join the euro.
Problems are also piling up on the domestic front, with increasing frustration at the perceived failure to deal with rising numbers of asylum seekers.
The anger at other European countries suggests Downing Street's strategy of attempting to isolate France in the build-up to the conflict may have dented the prime minister's hopes of calling a referendum soon. The results may also, in part, explain why Mr Blair decided against announcing the results of Labour's economic assessment on joining in the Budget.
The survey was similar in format to those regularly conducted by Labour's own pollsters and was carried out on Thursday evening, the day after US and British forces occupied Baghdad.
One participant, Rebecca, a part-time employee with an airline, said: "I have no respect for Europe. They've been cowards, backing out of the war, playing it safe." Keith, an electronics engineer, said: "Germany, France and Russia come top of my list of ones I wouldn't want anything to do with."
At the group, assembled in Langley, Berkshire, members praised the government and the armed forces for a job "well done" in toppling Saddam Hussein. They voiced relief that the war had turned out to be shorter than they had feared only three weeks ago, with fewer soldiers' lives lost than expected.
The fall of Baghdad had strengthened Mr Blair's standing. Moreover, members believed he had been effective in lobbying for the United Nations to be involved in rebuilding Iraq. One participant even paid him a tellingly Thatcheresque compliment, saying he had "put the great back into Britain" and others rejected the notion that he had been a "poodle" of US President George W. Bush.
But there was concern that the war effort would have been wasted if a free Iraq were not established, and doubts over how easy reconstruction would be. The "switchers" believed it was essential to find Mr Hussein "dead or alive", but were sceptical that he would be located. Hostility to France and Germany extended to the strong belief they should not take part in rebuilding Iraq.
There was also scepticism about the causes of the war. Citing the fact that no weapons of mass destruction had been discovered by the coalition, some felt the war had been fought for different reasons, particularly to gain access to oil reserves. Steve noted: "The weapons of mass destruction were a bit of a ruse."
Meanwhile, there was a mixed response to Gordon Brown's Budget. With news in Iraq swamping the chancellor's setpiece event, the group was largely uninterested in what members said was a "small and bland affair".
There was discomfort, however, at the 1 per cent increase in national insurance taking effect.
If people want on or off this list, please let me know.
|
|
|
|
|
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
They already have a name for it -- it's called the "Anglosphere" and the predominant group are Australia, the U.S, and the U.K. Barely second is New Zealand. Of course O Canada (eh?) is a minor member (sorry to the good Canadians there) -- and depending on definition one might even include India.
After Chiraq is gone, then EU not until the prick who thinks he's the leader of the EU is gone
I will not forgive him for sending that dirt bag devillipain to work against us......he will find out soon enough that crossing the US is a poor choice
What the UK needs to do is:
1) Forget about the Euro.
2) Join NAFTA (maybe the US could trade the UK for Mexico?)
3) Stop illegal immigration and the crazy "assylum" system that is turning London into Baghdad-on-the-Thames.
I don't know if India should be in the Anglo-sphere or not ---but judging from some of the telemarketers, people in India don't speak English but they must think they do. At least the ones who immigrate to the US speak English quite well.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.