The campaign to elect a new Labor Party leader has entered the final stage in the United Kingdom. In the next three weeks, the party’s 160,000 members will have to voice their preferences and send them to the election committee by mail. The new leader’s name will be revealed on September 25th, the day when the Labor’s Annual Conference is due to start in Manchester.
The Labor Party leader’s position became vacant after then Prime Minister Gordon Brown suffered a major defeat at the general elections in May this year. Thus, the party was ousted following its 13 years in power. For the time being, five candidates are competing for the right to head the second-largest party of Great Britain. The latest public opinion polls showed that choosing between the two forerunners in the race - brothers David and Ed Miliband, people tend to give more votes to the younger brother, Britain’s former Energy Minister. Meanwhile, ex-Foreign Secretary David Miliband enjoys much support from the New Labor group led by Tony Blair.
The period of low predictability and uncertainty starts with voting forecasts, since none of the highly-professional political analysts will try to predict the party’s new leader. It should be a charismatic person, like Conservatives’ Winston Churchill or Margaret Thatcher. Unfortunately, Labor doesn’t even have a visible leader as of today, like for instance Tony Blair, who has been recently subjected to sharp criticism for involving Great Britain in the Iraq war. Regardless of all his failures and contradictory character, Tony Blair was a strong leader with a certain charisma that resulted in his party’s staying at the helm for many years.
Experienced observers say Labor will hardly manage to regain power in the near future. A generation shift has gravely affected the party’s image and popularity both in Britain and abroad, especially in light of the Conservative party’s impressive victory in the European Union Parliament voting in summer last year. Tony Blair’s statement concerning the low predictability of developments in the UK might refer first of all to the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. Headed by David Cameron, the Cabinet is functioning fairly successfully, as acknowledged by both political analysts and ordinary British citizens. So, Labor should not count on the early downfall of the incumbent government.
Unfortunately, relations between Moscow and London were somewhat cool under the Labor, particularly in the sphere of politics. Great Britain’s current coalition government has already expressed its intention and readiness to repair relationships with Russia. It should be noted in conclusion that in October, British Foreign Secretary William Hague is due to arrive in Moscow on a working visit. He is expected to open a new page in the two countries’ relations, as both the Kremlin and Whitehall are hopeful for.
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