British Prime Minister Faces Political Crisis

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is faced with the largest political crisis in six years of his term due to weapons expert Dr. David Kelly, who committed suicide.

Blair is expected to make his appearance at the inquiry into the events surrounding Dr. Kelly’s suicide in an attempt to give evidence whether he overstated the intelligence on the Iraqi nuclear weapons. Regardless of the inquiry results, however, the credibility of the Blair administration has been seriously hurt and it will have troubles carrying out various policies, British media forecast.

According to a recent poll by the Telegraph, 58 percent of respondents said that they came to trust Blair less than before due to the Kelly’s suicide incident and 67 percent of them said that they felt betrayed by the government regarding the intelligence on Iraq.

“Loss of trust in Tony Blair have finally killed off any hope of a referendum before the next election on joining the single currency,” said the Telegraph.

The future of Defense Minster Jeff Hoon is also noteworthy. There is a dominating view that the government will make Hoon a scapegoat in order to overcome the current difficult situation. In other words, when the inquiry is over, it is highly likely that he will resign.

However, it will be a catch-22 situation for Blair even if the defense minister gives up his position. When former Foreign Minister Robin Cook and Secretary of State for International Development Clair Short resigned objecting to the war on Iraq, the prime minister’s popularity was jeopardized.

havefun@donga.com