During my charisma seminars at The Globe Theatre, Tony Blair’s name crops up as an example of a Prime Minister who when he first came to power was very charismatic. Given that ‘charisma’ is always on my radar I remember when Blair, who had been Prime Minister for less than three months gave an emotional announcement about the death of Princess Diana. At the time (31st August 1997) I recall noticing that there was something about Tony Blair’s ‘performance’ that lacked authenticity. It felt brilliantly acted and well-executed, particularly his line “She was the people’s princess” yet I thought he appeared to be faking the intensity of his emotion.
Yesterday, Tony Blair’s biography – A Journey: My Political Life was published revealing a well-manicured account of personal anecdotes of his political career. His betrayal of Gordon Brown, the arrogance with which he takes full credit for so many good things and the indiscretion when he talks about meeting The Queen – literally took my breath away! When he first became Prime Minister his vision for this country and his passion for doing the best for the people was like a breath of fresh air.
Today his vision is masked by naked ambition to earn as much money as he can. His well-crafted ‘excuses’ around Iraq hold the potential for being plausible yet this man is totally delusional – his ego has over-taken his humility. Whilst he is still a confident, articulate communicator, he fails to speak from his heart and today has lost the charismatic presence that won him Britain’s top job.
Tags: Tony Blair