Me and Hillary
Just 3 degrees separate Hillary and me. Since the elevation of Baroness Ashton to High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the EU, it’s only a hop skip and a jump from my house to the White House. It goes like this: Me, Peter Kellner - my fellow Associate at Project Associates and founding President of YouGov - his wife Cathy (Baroness Ashton) to the Secretary of State herself. How cool is that?
Not very, if you read the British broadsheets. Even today they continue to spew insults instead of rejoicing, that an English woman has been awarded one of the most important jobs in the world. In time people will recognise it for what is, a remarkable individual achievement and a milestone for Britain in Europe. I don’t mind if it’s the Daily-Mail-on-Sunday accusing her of being a commie, or worse still a federalist (a dirty word if ever I heard one), I expect nothing else, but that the heavies should join in the scoffing fit, concerns me more.
The fact is, it’s a hideous difficult job, where raw intellect, persuasiveness and force of personality must replace the lack of any fire power. She has no army (unless you include her fell host of faceless bureaucratii ) and no chance of consensus among 27 EU Heads of State; yet she now represents half a billion of us at the top table. Bizarre? yes, but that is the reality of Europe.
I know there would have been more venom had Mandelson or Miliband got the job, though Gordon even managed to Balls that up. Personally, I am delighted that Peter’s wife got it. As he said to me, she never asked for, applied for, or campaigned for it. But they chose her. Now we must give her a chance, it will be only a matter of days before she is tested. Let’s reserve our judgement until year one is over. Its my hunch that she will do fine.