Murdoch thinks 'lame duck' Blair should hand over power soon

[T_i_B]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1819710.ece

Tony Blair is a "lame duck" Prime Minister who made a "terrible mistake" in declaring his intention not to fight a fourth general election, according to Rupert Murdoch.

In his frankest interview yet about the current British political scene, the media baron reveals how he is pestered to have cups of tea by both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown when he is in London, and finds it "sometimes very inconvenient".

"Whenever I'm in town, they say: 'Can't you come over for a cup of tea?' When you're invited by the Prime Minister to have a cup of tea, you have a cup of tea. It's sometimes very inconvenient - if you're only there two days and you have a month's work to do. And you have to be careful to have a cup of tea with them both, or they are very suspicious that you are lining up with the other one."

His remarks, in an interview with John Cassidy for The New Yorker, sheds a revealing light on the personal rivalry between the PM and the Chancellor. The tycoon showed his keenness for Mr Blair to leave soon and hand over to Mr Brown, because he was losing his authority.

[orpupilofnature57]

1. Since when does Rue Murd count anything but lies? Misanthrope!

I'd love to have a cup of tea with Toni ,so I could ask him what the fuck he was thinking?

[rsmith6621]

2. blair and bush both will....

be handing over power.

[orpupilofnature57]

3. Now thats a sweet thought.

[LeftishBrit]

4. Since when has Murdoch been the elected political leader in the UK???

Although I wish Blair would step down, I also wish that Murdoch would stay the HELL out of British politics. Maggie T. would never have stayed so long or done so much damage if not for him. And that's just the beginning of the harm that this unelected bastard has done to us. (I know he's done the same for the USA.)

After his latest comments, maybe Blair and Brown will finally unite - to put some poison in Murdoch's next cup of tea!

[mazzarro]

8. Damn - Murdoch the almighty!

Brits are screwed with Blair and Brown scrambling to lick Murdoch's a**. Obviously Cameron will just be another one of his poodle too. He, of course, controls the US rethuglicon party.

[BooScout]

9. He's been the UK political leader for some time now....

Just as he moves 'behind the scenes' in the US.......so he does in the UK. Face it, between his raggedy newspapers, FAUX News in the US and Sky News in the UK......the politicians are all kissing his slimey ass......it's Murdoch who seems to decide who runs things in the US and the UK.... Clinton & McCain....Blair, Cameron & Brown........they all kiss his ass.

[CJCRANE]

5. It was NOT a mistake

for Blair to say he was leaving. His mistake was to cling on for so long. He should've left already.

[Kagemusha]

10. Thank you for such a clear, sane statement!

My worst case scenario is a Tony Blair farewell tour where he decides that he has such popular support that he might as well stay anyway.

[insidious]

6. F*ck Murdoch

I hope the North Koreans capture him. I'm sure they have plenty of "employment opportunities" to suit that POS.

[Vidar]

7. Did he fuck thing s up fo Australia as well? I'm unfamiliar with his

early history.

[samsingh]

11. priceless

[yorkiemommie1]

12. they must have a lot of fear

of the power of his media empire. Maybe they watched 'Outfoxed' too.

To think that today's leaders have sunken to kissing up to such as Murdoch. I don't have the historical perspective on this type of thing.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Murdoch had huge influence in the UK long before Fox News existed

He's owned the best selling newspaper, The Sun, since about 1970, and The Times, a prestigious 'quality' newspaper, since the early 80s. He supported Thatcher, and John Major, and then switched to supporting Tony Blair before the 1997 election. After the close 1992 election, in which The Sun ran a vicious anti-Labour campaign, their headline was "It Was The Sun Wot Won It". Blair cultivated him after that; Murdoch has benefited from lax laws regulating his ownership of the British satellite broadcasting system, and his papers have supported him in return. Whether Murdoch's papers have really swung public opinion, or if he is just good at sensing the direction of felling, and imitating it, it isn't certain.

[jwirr]

17. I wonder if it was his influence that caused Blair to jump on *ss's

bandwagon in the first place?

[sweetheart]

13. That venemous man

Why do evil assholes get to meet with the labour leadership, and regular people not?

Murdoch is for cameron and a return to high corporatism, but he loves getting a labour blowjob.

Now that the times has become a degenerate corporatist publication under murdoch, all thats
left is the need to buy the FT and to sort out those financial people to think like fox-tv.

[AX10]

15. The thing is that when BLIAR was elected in the spring of 1997....

he had a massive majority in the parliament (418 out of 646 seats). He could have done something positive such as break up Murdoch's media conglomerate, but he didn't. Blair is too a power hungry corporatist.

[orpupilofnature57]

16. He's Kkkarl's real father.