POLES TOGETHER

by RAY FLEMING
WHEN he retires from politics Tony Blair should be able to pick up some nice directorships with engineering and construction companies, especially those which specialise in bridge building. Perhaps he had a Meccano set as a child and developed his interest in the technology then. In the City of London on Monday night he was at it again, building bridges between Europe and the United States of America. Few will disagree that Europe and America should understand, respect and support one other but that is a rather different matter from the closeness Mr Blair believes he enjoys with Mr Bush. As President Chirac rather cruelly pointed out on Monday morning, in advance of his visit to London later this week, “Britain gave the United States its support on Iraq but I did not see anything in return. I'm not sure it is in the nature of our American friends at the moment to return favours systematically.” M. Chirac touched on an important point. “Special relationships” work when the chemistry between leaders is right; Margaret Thatcher hit it off with Ronald Reagan but John Major and Bill Clinton were not exactly best buddies. Unless there is a treaty defining the nature of a relationship between two countries the mood will change from year to year; if Gordon Brown were to succeed Mr Blair next year would the link between London and Washington remain the same?