Blair, Miliband, Gerry Adams and The Politics of Condemnation

A few years ago, when invited to condemn the latest weekly Israeli atrocity by John Humphries, Tony Blair responded 'I don't want to get involved in the politics of condemnation'. He had palpably been fed that line/soundbite by an aide. What he didn't know was that the aide had stolen the line from the standard Gerry Adams/Martin McGuinness disclaimers when asked by English commentators and interviewers in the 70s and 80s to condemn IRA bombings and killings. They used the phrase repeatedly over many years. The irony wasn't lost on those who were more aware than Blair or his aides. Ed Miliband, a successor of Blair as Labour leader, wants to distance himself from his predecessor for the obvious reason that Blair is now a political pariah in the UK. But Miliband retains many of the Blairite, Nu£abour traits. His reluctance to commit himself on any matter beyond uttering a few vacuities is worthy of any of the careerist Blairite suits. What none of them grasp is that there are some things that have to be condemned. A failure to face up to that is an admission of political emasculation and occasionally prostitution (in the case of the Israel lobby). One of many reasons Miliband will never occupy Downing Street.