[Opinion] Cherie`s Serenade

Rumors say that a song sung by Cherie Blair, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is hitting dance clubs across Europe. She performed The Beatles` `When I`m 64` when she visited Tsinghua University in China during her husband`s diplomatic mission. Tony Blair was apparently facing a hostile grilling from students, who asked whether he was lying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and why the British Museum has so many Chinese artifacts.

As the Q&A session came to an end, a student called out suddenly `Sing us a song.` Puzzled prime minister then asked his wife to be his rescuer, saying `it was not in our scenario.` Cherie was such a great relief pitcher. She said, ˝I like The Beatles a lot, Can I sing instead of him?˝ A remixed version of Cherie`s `When I`m 64` is reportedly hitting dance clubs across Europe, although BBC Internet reports that the rumor is hard to verify.

Mrs. Blair is often compared to Hilary Clinton, her former American counterpart. She is also a lawyer and believed to be smarter than her husband. One of students at Tshinghua University even asked, `Do you feel okay about the fact that your wife earns more money than you?` Tony Blair replied, `She is smarter than I am.` Cherie Blair, in fact, graduated the economics school of London as suma cum lade and passed the bar exam. She earns about 250,000 pound, or 487 million won a year, which is fairly larger than the annual salary of prime minister 175,000 pound, or 340 million won. As Hilary was involved in Whitegate, Cherie was also suspected of trying to intervene in the court proceedings to defend a criminal, who earlier helped her get an apartment cheap. She also plans to publish her autobiography like Hilary.

Although she is referred to as `Lady Macbeth` for speaking too much about politics, Cherie Blaire has been her husband`s rescuer at every critical moment, in fact. Blair decided to join the Labor Party to impress Cherie, who was a hardcore member of the party. When they married in 1980, they agreed that one who first joined the Parliament to pursue their political ambition while the other remaining a lawyer. Running a seat in the Lower Chamber in two different regions in 1983, the husband won and the wife lost. So they are what they are today. When Blair`s approval rating plunged in 2000, Cherie gave birth to their fourth child in a timely manner to boost her husband`s image. It is not easy to hate a prime minister who cherishes his family. This time, it was her serenade that saved her husband. And we wonder how the first lady of this country will save his besieged husband.

Kim Sun-deok, Editorial Writer, yuri@donga.com