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American Morning

'TIME' Editor Notes Drift in English Thought Toward Europe in Current Election

Aired June 07, 2001 - 10:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go back for a little more perspective on the British elections.

We are Joined by Michael Elliott. He's "TIME" magazine's editor- at-large.

Michael, good to talk to you.

Is there any real question, at this point, from what you're hearing, that Tony Blair would not stay the prime minister in Britain?

MICHAEL ELLIOTT, "TIME": If Tony Blair isn't prime minister tomorrow morning, Donna, I'll come on CNN and eat his shoe in front of our countrywide audience. I think this election is a done deal.

The issue now, as the polls close and everybody gets ready for analysis and prescription tonight, is the size of Blair's majority. I wouldn't be surprised if it dropped just a little bit, but he is still going to have a thumping majority in the House of Commons.

KELLEY: That's what it looked like to me, in fact, that maybe the opinion polls were narrowing a bit. What happened to the Conservatives in this election?

ELLIOTT: Well, you know, William Hague, the leader of the Conservative Party, has put up in what is in many ways a pretty gutsy campaign, but he has simply never connected with the British people. There's a word over here the Brits like using, which is naff. Now, I can't explain the etymology of it on a family program, but it's basically what we in the United States would call a nerd. It's someone who you just cannot take seriously. Hague, who is in many ways an intelligent and, actually, as a person, quite an attractive guy, has simply never succeeded in persuading the British electorate that he is worthy of a chance in 10 Downing Street.

I've been kind of impressed by him in the last few days, since I came over here, because he's stuck to his guns and stuck to his script, but he's gone nowhere.

KELLEY: It looks like one of the big issues he was pushing was the pound over the euro, and that's one of the issues of which Blair said, Let's wait and see on that after the election. Is that a big deal? ELLIOTT: Yes, I think that's a really big deal. I think there's something very interesting going on here. Before the election a lot of people would have anticipated that if Blair made a central plank of his platform the idea that this was your last chance to keep the pound rather than to join the euro, which most of the other countries in Europe now use, that would have been a winner for him. It hasn't happened. It simply hasn't resonated. Voters have been much more interested in issues on the quality of public services, like schools, education and transport.

I think what's happened is there is a slow tectonic shift going on in British society. They feel more European -- more comfortable on vacation in Europe, their football team is managed by a Swede -- and the idea of using a currency in common with other Europeans -- where they spend their vacations, where they may have vacation homes -- is simply not such a big issue as it might have been five years ago.

KELLEY: Not that we want to call the election, certainly, but since it looks as though Tony Blair is going to continue to be the prime minister, can you tell us what it means to the folks in the United States and the Bush administration?

ELLIOTT: Well, I don't think an awful lot, in the short term. I think the United Kingdom will be a very reliable ally of the Bush administration. President Bush, of course, is going to be over here in Europe for most of next week on his first trip to Europe, meeting not just with President Putin of Russia, but with all the leaders of the European Union, including Blair, assuming that Blair's the prime minister. I think the United Kingdom will continue to be a reliable and friendly ally of the United States. I don't think anything is really going to change that.

But I think there is a slow sense here that, after a 50-year debate, this country, without in any way turning its back on its friendship with the United States, is ever so slowly anchoring itself to Europe.

KELLEY: From "TIME" magazine, Michael Elliot -- a pleasure to get to visit with you. Thanks.

ELLIOTT: Nice to talk to you.

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