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The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

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Britons oust Prime Minister Tony Blair

Being a bad leader warrants political pressure to resign.

Britons made it clear that Prime Minister Tony Blair must go. This profound statement conveys that Britons demand accountability from their politicians, and failure to grant this accountability results in pressure from all fronts. In the past few weeks, college students, union members and other parties jeered Blair for his actions, demonstrating a strong appeal for civic engagement.

A BBC poll found that more than half of the participants disapproved of the Blair-George W. Bush relationship, while nearly 60 percent believed that the war on terrorism was a failure. Blair was widely criticized for his policy toward the Middle East, failing to serve the interest of Britain while catering to American interest and his tactics to combat the global war on terror, specifically the war on Iraq.

In many ways, political leadership is calculated by accountability to the people. British politicians in Parliament took the position of the state over personal interests. Six members of Blair’s Cabinet resigned from their positions in an attempt to stake a stance against Blair; other members urged him to resign. While many see this as a recently developing incident, protest against Blair within the circle of power and among the British citizenry has been present the past few years. In the invasion of Iraq, nine members resigned to demonstrate disapproval.

It is strange, almost laughable, to find similar actions in the U.S. political scene. In fact, the notions of representing the people and accountability seem to have escaped U.S. politics. There should be a correlation between approval ratings and the direction of power. Blair’s persistent disregard for his citizenry resulted in pressure from the people, who were able to push out this unpopular leader.

There is no reason for such demands not to exist in the United States. In the spirit of the Constitution, and the history of fiery politics in this country, Americans must demand the same – if not more – from U.S. politicians. After all, is it too much to expect a leader to reflect the population and act in accordance to this relationship?

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