Labour’s Dorian Grey
Many people have remarked on the change in Tony Blair’s appearance since he became Prime Minister; the thinning, greying hair, the increasingly sallow, drooping skin; the demise of his once-famous smile. I’m not sure people have drawn the correct conclusion from this, though. Perhaps, in fact, Labour made a cleverer choice even than anyone realised when they selected Blair as leader in 1994.
I was listening to somebody on the radio a couple of days ago complaining about a government policy, I don’t remember which one. What struck me was the way in which this criticism was articulated as abuse of _Blair_. And that does seem to be something of a theme of late; Blair is, as far as I can tell, held in almost universal contempt; while the evils instantiated in Blair are really, and more importantly, evils of New Labour’s adoption of neo-liberalism: managerialism, increased control, privatisation.
But the Labour brand name is still in pretty good shape, with the party able to pass off the most reactionary crap as progressive; and note that it’s precisely the stuff that looks most egalitarian that is most neo-liberal: tax credits (more intrusive and less labour intensive than the old means tests), the New Deal (or, unpaid compulsory labour), not to mention, obviously, the increasingly ethical (and, not coincidentally, murderous) foreign policy.
New Labour is Dorian Grey, and Tony Blair is its portrait, but, in true post-modern style, on the TV screens rather than in the attic. Unfortunately, being the undead monster it is, New Labour has the advantage that it can get rid of one portrait and choose a new one.
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tim, that is really good - i wish i had thought of it.
Comment by rachel @ 12/26/2004 8:11 pm