LabourList | The European reaction to the UK’s riots
“A moralising article from Tony Blair is enough to make anyone choke over their Sunday morning cornflakes, and his opinion piece in today’s Observer is no exception. It’s here if you feel like a browse.
One line from Blair’s piece, even quoted in the front page article about it, struck me though:
“Focus on the specific problem and we can begin on a proper solution. Elevate this into a high- faluting wail about a Britain that has lost its way morally and we will depress ourselves unnecessarily, trash our own reputation abroad [my emphasis] and, worst of all, miss the chance to deal with the problem in the only way that will work”.
There is, as Blair rightly understands, an international aspect to all of this – how other nations view the UK – but after keeping an eye on European newspapers over the last couple of weeks I’m convinced it is not the same concern as we have often heard.”