Give Britain a break

BRITAIN'S Tony Blair has shocked both governing Labour party and the opposition, Conservative, by declaring that he is in the race for a third term. How could Blair do this after assuring his party all along that it's his last term and that he would make the way for another candidate for the next term?

Published: Sun 3 Oct 2004, 8:57 AM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 1:45 AM

This is why, we should salute certain democracies where president or head of the state cannot stay for more than two terms — or eight to ten years. Obviously, the limit has been fixed after considering the matter thoroughly and examining the pros and cons of the issue in consultation with experts. A two-term affair is considered the ideal arrangement because a leader may not achieve all his goals in a single term. Former US president Reagan is a case in point. Under him, the US made major strides on the world stage. In his first term, the former US president set himself the agenda of ending the Cold War, demolishing the Berlin wall and more importantly, bring down the iron curtain that separated the West from Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc. Reagan managed to accomplish all this in his second term. The same cannot be said of Blair though. He has ‘accomplished' all that he wanted to in his two terms.

We don't have to look far to realise the consequences of remaining rooted to power for longer terms. With a long and unchecked stay in power, politicians tend to behave in arrogant and autocratic fashion like Margaret Thatcher did in her last days in power. They tend to get irresponsible and begin taking things for granted; they stop thinking what is good for their party or the country. Blair would do well to see that in a parliamentary democracy like Britain, it is the party that matters, not individuals. In fact, the prime minister would do his party a great favour by opting himself out of the race. Because, majority of Britons are tired of Blair but view his party favourably. Blair should give Britain a break.