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| The front page of British newspaper The Sun is seen September 5, 2006. [Reuters] |
British Prime Minister Tony Blair will stay in power for another year, a close ally said on Tuesday, while a leaked memo detailed plans for a "farewell tour" that would see Blair take his leave like a "star".
The comments by Environment Secretary David Miliband were widely seen as having been authorized by the prime minister in an attempt to quell a growing rebellion by members of his Labour Party who are demanding he give a timetable for leaving office.
Prime minister for nine years, Blair has said he will not seek a fourth term and will give his successor - expected to be finance minister Gordon Brown - ample time to settle in before the next general election, expected in 2009.
Although some Labour members of parliament were satisfied by the assurance, many others were not.
A draft letter calling for Blair to set an exit date was reported to be circulating and to have enough support from Labour legislators to suggest Blair could face a leadership challenge if he did not heed it.
Blair's office denied having received the letter.
"The conventional wisdom is that the prime minister sees himself carrying on for about another 12 months," Miliband told BBC radio.
Blair's popularity has plunged after a series of government scandals over sleaze and mismanagement, as well as controversy over the Iraq war. Opinion polls put Labourwell behindthe opposition Conservatives.
Despite intense pressure, Blair, 53, has refused to say precisely when he will go.
(Agencies) |
英國首相布萊爾的一位閣中密友周二透露，布萊爾還將留任一年。此外，一個詳細描述布萊爾離任計劃的備忘錄也被公開，他將像一位“明星”一樣舉行一場“告別演出”。
公眾一致認為，這是布萊爾授權環境部大臣大衛·米里邦德放出的消息，目的是為了平息工黨內部人士不斷要求其公開卸任時間表的呼聲。
布萊爾首相的任期已達9年，他表示自己不會再爭取第四個任期，并會讓繼任者--現任財政大臣戈登·布朗在2009年下屆大選之前有充足的時間做好接任準備。
雖然布萊爾的承諾讓一些工黨議員松了口氣，但是還有很多其他的人并不滿意。
有消息稱，一封催促布萊爾公布卸任日期的公開信目前已收集到很多工黨議員的簽名，如果布萊爾不予理睬，他的領袖地位則將面臨挑戰。
但是，布萊爾方面表示并沒有收到這封信。
米里邦德在接受英國廣播公司采訪時說：“布萊爾首相還將繼續留任1年?！?/p>
由于布萊爾卷入政府腐敗和執政能力下降等一系列的丑聞之中，再加上國內對伊拉克戰爭問題的種種爭議，布萊爾的名譽和聲望大大下降。據英國國內的民意調查顯示，如今工黨的支持率已大大低于在野黨保守黨。
雖然53歲的布萊爾目前面臨著很大的壓力，但是他仍然拒絕公開自己卸任的準確時間。
(英語點津姍姍編輯)
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