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It would make sense for Jack Straw to take over as prime ministerial candidate in the election or,
ideally, as prime minister even before then. Straw, however, has to realize that his party will very
likely lose the next election, even if Brown is out of the picture. The only thing that he could do
is save the furniture, by ensuring a respectable performance at the polls. He and his party,
however, should be realistic about Labour's prospects and strive for a modest showing, which may
allow them to save face, rather than entertain false notions that an increasingly unlikely victory
is possible.
Straw's impressive experience in government will surely make him look very good, especially when
faced with David Cameron, who is still a bit wet behind the ears, at least by comparison.
Additionally, Straw may be able to unify his badly divided party, since he does not really belong to
either the Blair or Brown camps and--as the Guardian pointed out--seems to have relatively few
political enemies. The fact that he has managed to avoid earning the wrath of his peers after such a
long political career indicates that he is a skilled, shrewd politician. |
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Jack Straw is a compromised candidate in my view. He was foreign minister during the Iraq war, and
the lie-saturated period which preceded it. If there was justice in the world, he would not be
facing trial in the Hague as a war criminal. I live in hope that that will one day come about.
From the perspective of the Labour party, the move would make sense, however. He doesn't strike me
as a leader but is probably more of one than Gordon Brown who has obviously disastrously failed to
click with the public. It's doubtful that Labour can pull it back enough to win next time even with
a new leader, though. Straw's role would be disaster management, triage if you like. He would also
serve as a buffer, shielding the next real leaders of the party, perhaps Milliband, from the taint
of failure. After the loss at the next election, Straw could step down and hand over the reins to
them. |
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No. They should call a general election rather than have two consecutive unelected leaders.
Not to say Jack straw would be any worse that any of the others. I think Labor have lost the respect
of the voters. Especially over Europe and Bailing out the banks with tax payers money. |
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29 Jul 2008 02:03
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