Tony Blair’s retirement, American-style
Of course.
After the assassination of President Kennedy, De
Gaulle was asked what would become of his widow, Jackie. He replied: “She
will end up on the yacht of an arms dealer.” With a little licence for the
Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis’s exact business, it was one of
the great prophetic lines of the age. I wonder how many among the rapturous
crowds who greeted their new prime minister on that glad, confident morning in
May 1997, or the MPs and commentators who drooled over him then, would have
guessed with similar prescience: he’ll end up on the board of JP
Morgan.
Other prime ministers have looked for nice little earners after retirement, by way of unreadable memoirs or dubious directorships, but there has always been an almost admirably brazen quality to Tony Blair’s avarice. Within months of leaving No 10 he has picked up several million for his memoirs, £250,000 a time for speaking engagements, and now an annual £500,000 for providing “strategic advice and insight” to Morgan, the US investment bank, which will take him a few days a month. As the 19th-century Earl of Glasgow might have said, a fellow can jog along on that.
The Brits might say, “Quid pro quo”…deferred payments delivered.
Other prime ministers have looked for nice little earners after retirement, by way of unreadable memoirs or dubious directorships, but there has always been an almost admirably brazen quality to Tony Blair’s avarice. Within months of leaving No 10 he has picked up several million for his memoirs, £250,000 a time for speaking engagements, and now an annual £500,000 for providing “strategic advice and insight” to Morgan, the US investment bank, which will take him a few days a month. As the 19th-century Earl of Glasgow might have said, a fellow can jog along on that.
The Brits might say, “Quid pro quo”…deferred payments delivered.
Posted: Fri - January 11, 2008 at 02:57 PM