Tony Blair Stepping Down As Peace Envoy

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Tony Blair Stepping Down As Peace Envoy

Tony Blair is to step down as Peace Envoy for the Middle East. Democracy is not sufficient on its own in the middle east, he declares. 

His numerous business ventures and controversial diplomatic role as peace envoy, makes him an unviable candidate for the front-line role. The former Prime Minister has recognized that the time has come for him to move on and move ahead. There is a rumored career change to the U.S.

Speaking at a conference in Egypt he told reporters: “Yes democracy is important, but democracy is not on its own sufficient. You also need efficacy. You need effective government taking effective decisions”, referring to the Palestinian Authority.

Blair is to move to a new job in the U.S . Its a move in the right direction according to a senior diplomat. It’s a move long due, since Blair was beginning to loose all credibility. He is being ‘eased out’, according to a senior diplomat in a report. At the conference in Egypt- where Blair is an economic adviser to President Sisi- he also said: “I don’t think you have to be authoritarian, but you have to be direct.”
Tony will be effectively hoping to achieve his desired goals in his future ventures. He is moving on directly to his new job in the U.S according to the Financial times. He seems to be a man who is capable of making a decision and moving ahead with it. Forwards and upwards as the saying goes. It remains to be seen if all his decisions in the past were arrived at democratically within his own conscious, or were they direct decisions that were based on the efficacy of his judgement ? Since his appointment as the Quartets’s -EU, the UN, the US and Russia – peace negotiator in the Middle east, the region has been deteriorating faster than before.

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The Independent: Tony Blair has questioned the value of democracy in the Middle East saying “effective government” is more important – amid reports that he is preparing to step down from his high-profile role as peace envoy to the region. Speaking at a conference on economic development in Egypt this weekend, Mr Blair said: “Yes democracy is important, but democracy is not on its own sufficient. You also need efficacy. You need effective government taking effective decisions.”

Praising Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has been accused of serious human rights abuses since coming to power in 2013, Mr Blair continued: “I don’t think you have to be authoritarian, but you have to be direct.”
Mr Blair was appointed to provide economic advice to President Sisi in July last year. The former general seized power from President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. An Amnesty International report, also published in July last year, reported “a surge in arbitrary arrests, detentions and harrowing incidents of torture and deaths in police custody” in Egypt under Sisi.
Last night it was reported that Mr Blair is preparing to step back from his controversial diplomatic role as peace envoy for the Quartet Middle East Peace Negotiators. The former prime minister has apparently recognised that his poor relations with senior Palestinian Authority figures and wide ranging business interests mean his frontline role is no longer viable.
The Financial Times claimed that Mr Blair had met John Kerry, the US secretary of state, to discuss a potential job change. One senior diplomat told the newspaper: “It is long overdue. He has been ineffective in this job. He has no credibility in this part of the world.”

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