Finally the election campaign is focused on the issue why this election is not plain sailing for Blair- the Iraq war. It is this conflict, and the falsehoods and lies that preceded the gathering clouds of war, that finally dragged Blair out of the prelapsarian phase. As a result, trust is an important issue in this election. Before that, there had been near misses. (Remember the Ecclestone affair and Blair’s “I am a pretty straight sort of guy” rejoinder?)
There is no point in rehearsing the arguments. The dodgy dossiers, embellished claims about attacks within 45 minutes and fickle legal advice speak for themselves.
What matters from the point of view of the election is the total erosion of trust. Even if your attitude is one of good riddance to Saddam, the way in which the case for war was presented and argued should make your squirm. Democracy, which became an ex post facto justification for the war, was totally bypassed in the quest for war. Parliament was given false information and the case for war was never fully scrutinised in cabinet. The decision was taken in Washington and obsequiously followed by Blair.
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