Bumpy Ride For Blair
June 6th, 2007
As Tony Blair scribbled down his to-do list for his tenth and final G8, sealing his legacy was probably right at the top.
The longest serving and thus "senior G8 leader", he's in a good position to steer the agenda and ensure he comes out glowing.
On climate change, he'll likely attempt to bridge the gap between the US and Europe over German chancellor Angela Merkel's tough new line - to ensure G8 states set clear goals for reducing emissions, create a carbon market and commit to UN-led, Kyoto-based climate monitoring.
Blair insists the key to environmental protection is to move the discussions forward with the US on board.
Blair had hoped this was the year to regain momentum on Africa, which has markedly slowed since the Make Poverty History campaign that dominated Gleneagles in 2005. Embarrassingly, two years on, none of the G8 promises on aid to Africa have been kept.
But, alas, Blair is likely to have to shelve most of the above to sort out a more urgent mess: Russia's threat to point its nuclear toys at Europe. Blair wants a firm discussion with Russian president Vladimir Putin on missile defence systems as well as a quiet word about another sticky situation - the mystery poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.
Prepare, Mr Blair. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
Image by: garret keogh
