Tony Blair: Difference between revisions
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Despite criticism (most notably for shifting the Labour party massively to the right and for invading Iraq), he captained Labour through three consecutive victories and left by own choice in 2007 after seeing off four opposition leaders before handing over to [[Gordon Brown|the Chancellor]]. It goes without saying the switch from Captain Charisma to No-Flash Gordon has fuelled several jokes. Blair currently acts as a UN envoy to the Middle East.
His most enduring legacy is reinventing the traditionally blue-collar Labour Party into "New Labour", based around middle-class cubicle monkeys. Purists criticized him for this, but Blair was merely a product of his time. His soothing TV manner and propensity to dodge hard issues made him more reminiscent of [[Eagleland Osmosis|an American President than PM]]
Not afraid of media, Blair played himself in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and a sketch with [[Catherine Tate]]. Likely the only Prime Minister to have said ''"Am I bovvered?"''.
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Early on in his premiership, Blair was noted for the election catchphrases "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" and "we have three priorities: education, education and education". These were widely parodied, [[Mad Libs Catchphrase|madlibs-style]], in the media and to some extent have entered the British lexicon.
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* He voices himself in [[The Simpsons]] episode ''The Regina Monologues'', where the titular family travels to London. Although after he leaves:
{{quote|'''Homer''': I can't ''believe'' we met '''[[Mr. Bean|Mister Bean]]'''!}}
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* There's Tony Blair in the ending of the ''Albion'' graphic novel. Heh heh.
* The Prime Minister in the 2008 ''Dan Dare'' miniseries is clearly based on him (confirmed by [[Word of God]]). He's also a snivelling opportunist who sells Earth out to the [[Big Bad|Mekon]]. Hmmmm...
** If intentional, this may be [[Fridge Brilliance]] - ''[[Private Eye]]'' ran a Dan Dare parody in [[The Eighties]] where the Mekon represented [[Margaret Thatcher]] ("The Maggon") and
** Cartoons in ''The Times'' in the late 1990s flipped the sides, portraying Tony Blair as "Dan Blair, Pilot For The Foreseeable Future" and William Hague, the (bald) leader of the Opposition, as the Mekon.
* Gary Callahan, the second [[President Evil|President]] in ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'', is believed to have been largely based on Tony Blair. Trademarks include a near-permanent grin and an obsession with control and media spin.
* Played by [[Michael Sheen]] in 2006's ''[[The Queen]]'', who previously played him in 2003's ''[[The Deal]]'' and again in 2010's ''The Special Relationship''. Screenwriter Peter Morgan seems to have a [[Author Appeal|strong interest]] in what Blair is like behind closed doors.
* Blair was one of Jon Culshaw's most popular impersonations in ''[[Dead Ringers (TV series)|Dead Ringers]]'': in another Comic Relief sketch, the real Blair appeared alongside Culshaw's version and played along, notably accepting Culshaw's use of his catchphrase ''"...in a very real sense..."''
* ''[[Private Eye]]'' started out with two Blair parodies: ''Blairzone'', referencing his "Cool Britannia" attempts to be hip and with it, and "The Vicar of St. Albion's", referencing how some had compared his speech-giving style to that of a sanctimonious parish [[The Vicar|vicar]] preaching a sermon. Perhaps unexpectedly, it was the second one that lasted and became very popular, with Cabinet members fulfilling corresponding roles (for instance, [[Gordon Brown]] as the church treasurer) and foreign leaders being slotted into appropriate roles (e.g. American Presidents [[Bill Clinton]] and [[George W. Bush]] were made into the leaders of odd evangelical sects the Church of the Seventh-Day Fornicators and the Church of the Latter Day
** "The Vicar of St. Albion's" [[Funny Aneurysm Moment|got weird]] when Blair very publicly converted to Catholicism shortly after resigning as Prime Minister...
*** And then immediately started offering the Pope unsolicited advice about modernizing his outlook...
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