Monday, Nov 01, 2004
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By Hasan Suroor
LONDON, OCT. 31. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is reportedly planning to call a snap general election to pre-empt any more decline in his popular ratings, and to cash in on the `bounce' from the elections in Iraq in January, if they pass off smoothly. Although Downing Street dismissed the idea as "idle speculation'', the buzz persisted after two major newspapers — The Sunday Times and The Sunday Telegraph — reported that Mr. Blair had `ordered' his close adviser and new head of the Labour Party election campaign, Alan Milburn, to put the party on a "war footing'' for a possible election in February, three months ahead of schedule. The reported move follows a series of opinion polls showing a steady fall in Mr. Blair's public standing and there are fears that if the trend continues things could become worse for him by May, when the elections were normally expected to be held. Vulnerable "Mr. Blair's advisers have told him that he continues to be vulnerable on the key issue of trust and that if he delays polling day, he will risk exposure to unforeseen problems both in Iraq and on domestic issues,'' The Sunday Telegraph said adding that he also hoped to benefit from a "Baghdad bounce'' following what he expected to be successful elections in Iraq. Quoting an `insider', The Sunday Times said that by holding a surprise election in February or March, Mr. Blair wanted to show that he was not willing to be "buffeted by events and that he is decisive''.
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