The Blair phenomenon

After this victory, will Labour go back to its policies of the pre-Margaret Thatcher era? From the economic point of view, Blair will probably not be as puritan as his Labourite predecessors. In matters of economic management, he will probably try for equilibrium through "dialogue" between the private and public sectors. He has promised to bring change, but "not much".

Blair is likely to draw Britain closer to Europe. His stance on this is keenly awaited due, among other things, to the question of the proposed single currency for Europe -- a proposal John Major was consistently reluctant to accept.

As far as the developing countries are concerned, not much is likely to change. As was the case with the Conservatives, the new Labuor government is not likely to diverge from the principles advanced countries have so far applied to the developing world.

Improvements in education and Britain's domestic economy will be high on Blair's agenda. He will probably do what U.S. President Clinton did when he was first elected, gradually reduce the dominance of the economic policy principles established by his predecessor. If this turns out to be true, the news media's reference to Blair as Clinton's "trans-Atlantic twin" will be proven quite correct.

-- Republika, Jakarta