You'd never have guessed, would you? The Right man for the Right job, if you
ask me.
Jon Cloke
Newcastle University
Murdoch set to back Blair - for a place in his boardroom
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
Published: 29 July 2006
<http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article1202848.ece>
The media magnate Rupert Murdoch is expected to offer
Tony Blair a senior role in his News Corporation empire
when he stands down as Prime Minister.
Allies of Mr Blair insist he has made no decisions about
his plans when he leaves Downing Street -- almost
certainly next year. But some friends say a seat on the
board of News Corp could tempt the outgoing Prime
Minister, as it would dovetail neatly with the lucrative
United States lecture circuit. Mr Blair's popularity at
home may be waning, but he remains big box office in
America. His close relationship with Mr Murdoch will be
highlighted tomorrow when he addresses the annual
gathering of News Corp's executives and senior
journalists from around the world.
After meeting President George Bush at the White House
yesterday, Mr Blair flew on to California where, amid
the stunning scenery at Pebble Beach, 130 miles south of
San Francisco, he will speak about "leadership in the
modern world".
The five-day event is entitled Imagining The Future,
reflecting Mr Murdoch's recently-discovered interest in
new media. Other star guests are expected to include
Bill and Hillary Clinton; Arnold Schwarzenegger, the
Terminator turned Governor of California; Bono, the U2
singer and campaigner for the developing world; Shimon
Peres, the Israeli Vice Premier; and former US Vice-
President Al Gore, who will show his film on climate
change.
Mr Blair's appearance is seen as a mutual "thank you" as
he enters the final phase of his premiership. Mr Murdoch
admired Mr Blair's support for President Bush over the
Iraq war, which his newspapers around the world
endorsed.
Mr Murdoch has already rewarded Jose Maria Aznar, the
former Spanish Prime Minister and another backer of the
conflict, with a seat on his board. "Mr Aznar earned
worldwide respect for his strong economic record and
unflinching stand against domestic and international
terrorism," the News Corp chairman and chief executive
said when he announced the appointment last month. It is
easy to imagine him uttering similar words about Mr
Blair.
Nor is Mr Blair's presence at tomorrow's event a great
surprise. In 1995, as Leader of the Opposition, he
raised eyebrows by travelling even further to address
the same gathering when he went to Hayman Island, off
Australia. The trip cemented a relationship that has
apparently served both men well. Under Neil Kinnock's
leadership, Mr Murdoch's journalists were banned from
Labour's briefings and its annual conference as a legacy
of the bitter industrial dispute at News International's
Wapping plant. The hostile coverage of Mr Kinnock in
Murdoch-owned papers, notably The Sun, led Mr Blair to
declare: "Never again." He courted the media magnate as
much as Mr Murdoch courted him. "It is better to ride
the tiger's back than let it rip your throat out," he
explained.
Some Blair allies insist that Mr Murdoch's alleged
influence over decisions affecting his business
interests and Europe have been greatly exaggerated. But
Lance Price, who was deputy to the Downing Street
communications director Alastair Campbell, is not among
them. He has described Mr Murdoch as "the 24th member of
the Cabinet", saying: "No big decision could ever be
made inside No 10 without taking account of the likely
reaction of three men - Gordon Brown, John Prescott and
Rupert Murdoch."
The relationship certainly paid dividends for Mr Blair.
Mr Campbell regards decision of The Sun, once a
cheerleader for Margaret Thatcher, to back Labour at the
1997 election as his finest hour. The contrast with
Kimnock era could not have been more striking.
Mr Blair meets the media mogul two or three times a year
but goes to some lengths to keep their contacts secret.
The Liberal Democrat peer Lord Avebury and the
journalist James Macintyre have been beavering away
under the Freedom of Information Act to find out more
about their discussions. They had a mini coup when the
Information Commissioner ordered Downing Street to be
more open. Its response, however, was to disclose that
Mr Blair had "a telephone conversation with Rupert
Murdoch on 13 March 2003". No 10 is arguing that
"personal and political" discussions between the two men
do not have to be revealed.
Proprietor's influence on British politics
* SINGLE CURRENCY
Mr Murdoch's newspapers, notably The Sun, are hostile to
European Union integration. Mr Blair told The Sun about
his "love" for the pound before the 1997 election but
once in power was determined to take Britain into the
euro. The papers put strong pressure on Mr Blair to drop
his plans to call a referendum on the issue.
* EUROPE
The Murdoch empire also turned its guns on the proposed
EU constitution. It lobbied hard for a referendum but
needed inside help to secure a Blair U-turn - this time
from Jack Straw, then Foreign Secretary. In the event,
the constitution died a natural death after it was
rejected by the people of France and the Netherlands.
But Mr Blair's decision to promise a referendum played
an important part in persuading the French President
Jacques Chirac to follow suit.
* MEDIA POLICY
Mr Blair had no time for Labour MPs demanding that Mr
Murdoch be forced to choose between his newspaper and TV
interests in Britain. Mr Murdoch was unhappy when his
businesses were referred to the Office of Fair Trading
but it took no action against him. In 1998, Mr Blair
rang Romano Prodi, the Italian Prime Minister, to test
reaction to Mr Murdoch's possible takeover bid for the
Mediaset broadcasting empire, owned by Silvio
Berlusconi.
* THE BBC
Mr Murdoch is not happy that Labour's generally pro-BBC
stance has allowed the corporation to expand into new
media. He is now lobbying against the BBC's bid for the
licence fee to rise by 2.3 per cent on top of inflation
each year and there are signals the Government will
reject the request.
* ECONOMIC POLICY
Mr Murdoch and his emissary, the American journalist
Irwin Stelzer, have urged Labour to introduce business-
friendly policies such as lower taxes and criticised
some of the Government's programmes as too bureaucratic.
He has not won all his arguments but appears to be
broadly happy with the general direction of policy.
The media magnate Rupert Murdoch is expected to offer
Tony Blair a senior role in his News Corporation empire
when he stands down as Prime Minister.
Allies of Mr Blair insist he has made no decisions about
his plans when he leaves Downing Street -- almost
certainly next year. But some friends say a seat on the
board of News Corp could tempt the outgoing Prime
Minister, as it would dovetail neatly with the lucrative
United States lecture circuit. Mr Blair's popularity at
home may be waning, but he remains big box office in
America. His close relationship with Mr Murdoch will be
highlighted tomorrow when he addresses the annual
gathering of News Corp's executives and senior
journalists from around the world.
After meeting President George Bush at the White House
yesterday, Mr Blair flew on to California where, amid
the stunning scenery at Pebble Beach, 130 miles south of
San Francisco, he will speak about "leadership in the
modern world".
The five-day event is entitled Imagining The Future,
reflecting Mr Murdoch's recently-discovered interest in
new media. Other star guests are expected to include
Bill and Hillary Clinton; Arnold Schwarzenegger, the
Terminator turned Governor of California; Bono, the U2
singer and campaigner for the developing world; Shimon
Peres, the Israeli Vice Premier; and former US Vice-
President Al Gore, who will show his film on climate
change.
Mr Blair's appearance is seen as a mutual "thank you" as
he enters the final phase of his premiership. Mr Murdoch
admired Mr Blair's support for President Bush over the
Iraq war, which his newspapers around the world
endorsed.
Mr Murdoch has already rewarded Jose Maria Aznar, the
former Spanish Prime Minister and another backer of the
conflict, with a seat on his board. "Mr Aznar earned
worldwide respect for his strong economic record and
unflinching stand against domestic and international
terrorism," the News Corp chairman and chief executive
said when he announced the appointment last month. It is
easy to imagine him uttering similar words about Mr
Blair.
Nor is Mr Blair's presence at tomorrow's event a great
surprise. In 1995, as Leader of the Opposition, he
raised eyebrows by travelling even further to address
the same gathering when he went to Hayman Island, off
Australia. The trip cemented a relationship that has
apparently served both men well. Under Neil Kinnock's
leadership, Mr Murdoch's journalists were banned from
Labour's briefings and its annual conference as a legacy
of the bitter industrial dispute at News International's
Wapping plant. The hostile coverage of Mr Kinnock in
Murdoch-owned papers, notably The Sun, led Mr Blair to
declare: "Never again." He courted the media magnate as
much as Mr Murdoch courted him. "It is better to ride
the tiger's back than let it rip your throat out," he
explained.
Some Blair allies insist that Mr Murdoch's alleged
influence over decisions affecting his business
interests and Europe have been greatly exaggerated. But
Lance Price, who was deputy to the Downing Street
communications director Alastair Campbell, is not among
them. He has described Mr Murdoch as "the 24th member of
the Cabinet", saying: "No big decision could ever be
made inside No 10 without taking account of the likely
reaction of three men - Gordon Brown, John Prescott and
Rupert Murdoch."
The relationship certainly paid dividends for Mr Blair.
Mr Campbell regards decision of The Sun, once a
cheerleader for Margaret Thatcher, to back Labour at the
1997 election as his finest hour. The contrast with
Kimnock era could not have been more striking.
Mr Blair meets the media mogul two or three times a year
but goes to some lengths to keep their contacts secret.
The Liberal Democrat peer Lord Avebury and the
journalist James Macintyre have been beavering away
under the Freedom of Information Act to find out more
about their discussions. They had a mini coup when the
Information Commissioner ordered Downing Street to be
more open. Its response, however, was to disclose that
Mr Blair had "a telephone conversation with Rupert
Murdoch on 13 March 2003". No 10 is arguing that
"personal and political" discussions between the two men
do not have to be revealed.
Proprietor's influence on British politics
* SINGLE CURRENCY
Mr Murdoch's newspapers, notably The Sun, are hostile to
European Union integration. Mr Blair told The Sun about
his "love" for the pound before the 1997 election but
once in power was determined to take Britain into the
euro. The papers put strong pressure on Mr Blair to drop
his plans to call a referendum on the issue.
* EUROPE
The Murdoch empire also turned its guns on the proposed
EU constitution. It lobbied hard for a referendum but
needed inside help to secure a Blair U-turn - this time
from Jack Straw, then Foreign Secretary. In the event,
the constitution died a natural death after it was
rejected by the people of France and the Netherlands.
But Mr Blair's decision to promise a referendum played
an important part in persuading the French President
Jacques Chirac to follow suit.
* MEDIA POLICY
Mr Blair had no time for Labour MPs demanding that Mr
Murdoch be forced to choose between his newspaper and TV
interests in Britain. Mr Murdoch was unhappy when his
businesses were referred to the Office of Fair Trading
but it took no action against him. In 1998, Mr Blair
rang Romano Prodi, the Italian Prime Minister, to test
reaction to Mr Murdoch's possible takeover bid for the
Mediaset broadcasting empire, owned by Silvio
Berlusconi.
* THE BBC
Mr Murdoch is not happy that Labour's generally pro-BBC
stance has allowed the corporation to expand into new
media. He is now lobbying against the BBC's bid for the
licence fee to rise by 2.3 per cent on top of inflation
each year and there are signals the Government will
reject the request.
* ECONOMIC POLICY
Mr Murdoch and his emissary, the American journalist
Irwin Stelzer, have urged Labour to introduce business-
friendly policies such as lower taxes and criticised
some of the Government's programmes as too bureaucratic.
He has not won all his arguments but appears to be
broadly happy with the general direction of policy.
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