Blair banks plenty on new job

Every now and then something hits the news that is so funny that hysterical laughter and streaming tears are inevitable. Such a news snippet was in the Independent online today and probably in a fair number of other news sources.

Tony Blair has landed a job as a part-time consultant to one of the best-known American investment banks, JP Morgan, at a measly little salary of £500 000 per annum. And he’s looking around for other little part-time jobs, so if you have something going, do keep him in mind.

Originally I had thought that the ultimate in irony was the fact that Blair was appointed peace envoy to the Middle East, as he stepped out of Number 10 Downing Street. Recent newspaper reports have estimated that 150 000 Iraqis have been killed during the war — a war that was started by Bush and Blair. Some credentials for a peace envoy. One can just imagine the wording on the CV.

On top of that came the recent news that the Catholic Church had accepted Blair into its fold. Now that is an endorsement by a church. That took the concept of sinners being forgiven all their sins as long as they are saved by Jesus to a whole new level. Ignoring the commandment of “though shalt not kill” 150 000 times?

I suppose the Catholic Church couldn’t resist the public-relations coup of enticing such a prominent celebrity into its fold. The PR it would have gotten if it had publicly declined Blair’s membership might have been even more valuable, though. At least one would have seen a church take a stand against unashamed murder.

But this move by JP Morgan will be hard to beat. Searching to find some figures on how the UK economy did under Blair’s leadership brings up some interesting side statistics. Yes, to give him credit, solid growth was experienced. But at what cost?

According to Forbes, during Brown’s last budget speech in March 2007, the deficit stood at £7-billion for the previous year. For the new year it was anticipated that public-sector net borrowings would need to be £34-billion. Blair’s government was anticipating spending £34-billion more than it was going to be able to collect.

So we have a former prime minister getting a job at an investment bank. Do remember you can’t only blame Brown for the huge public debt, because the buck does stop at the PM’s desk. What would have been the wording on Blair’s CV for this job, then? “Does know a few prominent people but can’t balance the cheque book.”

This same ex-PM is now being hired by a bank? Does anybody else see the irony here or am I a lone voice in the wilderness? Does JP Morgan, which I always thought was a fairly reputable financial institution, not see the irony here? And will this kind of move affect its reputation, one might wonder? Probably not!

A tongue-in-cheek look at what could be in store for other prime ministers who might be thinking of retiring from office could lead to some fun speculations. What sort of jobs would Robert Mugabe be offered? He might get a job as the next chairperson of the Federal Reserve of the United States. He might even head up Amnesty International, perhaps.

And closer to home, one might wonder what Thabo Mbeki might get up to after his term is over. One could guess that his Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, might not keep her job either. The pair, two for the price of one, could be appointed to the World Health Organisation in the special portfolio HIV/Aids.

It’s a strange world we live in. For a very funny look at politics and the economy in the UK, check this video on YouTube. Rory Bremner and his team of political satirists are unbelievably funny.