Comments on: Real IRA http://downingstreetsays.com/briefings/2004/05/27/583 Every day the Prime Minister's Spokesman meets a small coterie of political journalists known as 'the lobby' for a topical chat, or 'briefing'. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:58:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: Gregory Block http://downingstreetsays.com/briefings/2004/05/27/583#comment-1269 Gregory Block Thu, 22 Jul 2004 09:36:14 +0000 http://downingstreetsays.com/briefings/2004/05/27/583#comment-1269 Northern Ireland is the perennial rock; the troubles the perennial hard place. It's difficult to imagine what can be done about this, for Blair - the devolved political and security systems aren't politically strong enough to withstand him making a statement before the devolved powers and bodies do, and so he has to sit on his hands and let the people who are meant to be the mouthpiece for that process do so. Meanwhile, everyone can see that he's sitting on his hands, and so people get the impression that it's all puppetry. If he speaks up, he steps on the process of convincing people that the power isn't centralised; if he stays silent, he reinforces the impression that little strings attached to the backs of the folks in the Northern Ireland office run down under the ground, across the sea, under the streets of London, and into the hands of a man in 10 Downing Street. Northern Ireland is the perennial rock; the troubles the perennial hard place. It’s difficult to imagine what can be done about this, for Blair - the devolved political and security systems aren’t politically strong enough to withstand him making a statement before the devolved powers and bodies do, and so he has to sit on his hands and let the people who are meant to be the mouthpiece for that process do so. Meanwhile, everyone can see that he’s sitting on his hands, and so people get the impression that it’s all puppetry.

If he speaks up, he steps on the process of convincing people that the power isn’t centralised; if he stays silent, he reinforces the impression that little strings attached to the backs of the folks in the Northern Ireland office run down under the ground, across the sea, under the streets of London, and into the hands of a man in 10 Downing Street.

]]> By: Roger http://downingstreetsays.com/briefings/2004/05/27/583#comment-1039 Roger Fri, 28 May 2004 10:54:52 +0000 http://downingstreetsays.com/briefings/2004/05/27/583#comment-1039 This is Teflon Tony in action yet again. His stance on Iraq - to continue what he has started - is commendable especially as the siuation is now a mess. However IF he was a Prime Minister of any stature at all he would surely have made a more convincing statement than this. Once again British Law is seen to be an ass. This is Teflon Tony in action yet again. His stance on Iraq - to continue what he has started - is commendable especially as the siuation is now a mess. However IF he was a Prime Minister of any stature at all he would surely have made a more convincing statement than this.
Once again British Law is seen to be an ass.

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