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Euan Blair gets job in US as an intern
Prime minister's eldest son to spend three months in Washington after university working for Republican congressman
Michael White, political editor
Monday June 27, 2005
The Guardian
Euan Blair will be spending three months in Washington working as an unpaid intern for a powerful Republican congressman this summer. But he is also hoping to work for a Democrat as well, Downing Street confirmed yesterday.
The prime minister's eldest son, who is about to graduate from Bristol University, will work for Congressman David Dreier, chairman of the House rules committee as part of preparation for what he hopes will be an MBA course at Harvard, possibly after a gap year.
Mr Dreier, 53 next week, has represented California in Congress since he was 28 and has been attacked from both left and right for supporting tax cuts and not being tough enough on illegal immigration. Gay groups accused him of being anti-gay, even though other opponents demanded that he "out" himself.
Before the 2003 Iraq war Mr Dreier was quoted as saying that the US would not be fighting alone, in part thanks to "a great speech by Tony Blair", a man who had been elected "out of the mould of Bill Clinton and yet has become a great ally of George Bush".
In a highly competitive field even for Americans, it is not unusual for high-flying foreign graduates, including those on US-European scholarship programmes, to be given such openings.
Euan will have been deemed capable of the work involved to get the opportunity, though family or political connections will also have helped - as they did such famous Washington interns as Monica Lewinsky.
As with Prince William who also graduated this summer Blair Jr may now be deemed fair game for paparazzi keen to capture romance or indiscretion. Both his parents were routinely targeted by the Sunday tabloids yesterday.
It was confirmed that Cherie Blair had withdrawn from an appearance at a Malaysian shopping centre to promote Breast Cancer Awareness during a visit in late July to give a law lecture, unpaid.
No 10 said she had found she would have to return to London sooner than planned. But the Mail on Sunday, which led the media attack on Mrs Blair's paid book-related lecture tours in both Australasia and the US, claimed that her hostess's husband, Francis Yeoh, is "ruthlessly exploiting" the cancer charity event for commercial gain.
It did not say how and Mrs Blair remains determined to help the Malaysian charity if she can.
Mrs Blair was criticised for using her role as prime minister's consort - as distinct from her own career expertise as a lawyer - to promote her book for gain.
That complaint may have struck home because the Channel 4 TV documentary on Downing Street spouses which she will present will see her fee - reportedly £10,000 - given to charity.
That may not stop the Commons standards and privileges select committee from examining whether or not the strict rules governing the conduct of ministers should now be extended to their spouses to reflect current working realities.
Chris Grayling, shadow leader of the Commons, has been urging such an inquiry which will reportedly start shortly.
But yesterday's most spectacular piece of Blair-baiting came in the form of an investigation of Mrs Blair's former trainer, Carole Caplin, by Mazher Mahmood, the legendary investigative heavy at the News of the World, also known as the "Fake Sheikh".
The newspaper professed to be shocked at the extent to which Ms Caplin name-dropped the Blairs and gossiped about them to their reporters in an attempt to win £100 an hour fitness training from their "rich boss", Mr Mahmood.
In particular, the paper claimed she had said Mr Blair had lapsed back into bad habits and become "an overweight boozer" since her disciplinary influence was removed from No 10. She left after the row over her conman boyfriend's self-appointed role in helping the Blairs buy a Bristol flat for Euan.
It turns out that Mr Blair drinks as much as "maybe two or three glasses a night".' But when the NoW asked excitedly if she meant whisky, she means wine. "I'm not saying he's an alcoholic, he's not a drinker," she adds in a five page expose headed "The Blairs Betrayed."
One former No 10 official said last night: "I have known Tony Blair for many years and I have never seen him the worse for drink."
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,9061,1515389,00.html
Prime minister's eldest son to spend three months in Washington after university working for Republican congressman
Michael White, political editor
Monday June 27, 2005
The Guardian
Euan Blair will be spending three months in Washington working as an unpaid intern for a powerful Republican congressman this summer. But he is also hoping to work for a Democrat as well, Downing Street confirmed yesterday.
The prime minister's eldest son, who is about to graduate from Bristol University, will work for Congressman David Dreier, chairman of the House rules committee as part of preparation for what he hopes will be an MBA course at Harvard, possibly after a gap year.
Mr Dreier, 53 next week, has represented California in Congress since he was 28 and has been attacked from both left and right for supporting tax cuts and not being tough enough on illegal immigration. Gay groups accused him of being anti-gay, even though other opponents demanded that he "out" himself.
Before the 2003 Iraq war Mr Dreier was quoted as saying that the US would not be fighting alone, in part thanks to "a great speech by Tony Blair", a man who had been elected "out of the mould of Bill Clinton and yet has become a great ally of George Bush".
In a highly competitive field even for Americans, it is not unusual for high-flying foreign graduates, including those on US-European scholarship programmes, to be given such openings.
Euan will have been deemed capable of the work involved to get the opportunity, though family or political connections will also have helped - as they did such famous Washington interns as Monica Lewinsky.
As with Prince William who also graduated this summer Blair Jr may now be deemed fair game for paparazzi keen to capture romance or indiscretion. Both his parents were routinely targeted by the Sunday tabloids yesterday.
It was confirmed that Cherie Blair had withdrawn from an appearance at a Malaysian shopping centre to promote Breast Cancer Awareness during a visit in late July to give a law lecture, unpaid.
No 10 said she had found she would have to return to London sooner than planned. But the Mail on Sunday, which led the media attack on Mrs Blair's paid book-related lecture tours in both Australasia and the US, claimed that her hostess's husband, Francis Yeoh, is "ruthlessly exploiting" the cancer charity event for commercial gain.
It did not say how and Mrs Blair remains determined to help the Malaysian charity if she can.
Mrs Blair was criticised for using her role as prime minister's consort - as distinct from her own career expertise as a lawyer - to promote her book for gain.
That complaint may have struck home because the Channel 4 TV documentary on Downing Street spouses which she will present will see her fee - reportedly £10,000 - given to charity.
That may not stop the Commons standards and privileges select committee from examining whether or not the strict rules governing the conduct of ministers should now be extended to their spouses to reflect current working realities.
Chris Grayling, shadow leader of the Commons, has been urging such an inquiry which will reportedly start shortly.
But yesterday's most spectacular piece of Blair-baiting came in the form of an investigation of Mrs Blair's former trainer, Carole Caplin, by Mazher Mahmood, the legendary investigative heavy at the News of the World, also known as the "Fake Sheikh".
The newspaper professed to be shocked at the extent to which Ms Caplin name-dropped the Blairs and gossiped about them to their reporters in an attempt to win £100 an hour fitness training from their "rich boss", Mr Mahmood.
In particular, the paper claimed she had said Mr Blair had lapsed back into bad habits and become "an overweight boozer" since her disciplinary influence was removed from No 10. She left after the row over her conman boyfriend's self-appointed role in helping the Blairs buy a Bristol flat for Euan.
It turns out that Mr Blair drinks as much as "maybe two or three glasses a night".' But when the NoW asked excitedly if she meant whisky, she means wine. "I'm not saying he's an alcoholic, he's not a drinker," she adds in a five page expose headed "The Blairs Betrayed."
One former No 10 official said last night: "I have known Tony Blair for many years and I have never seen him the worse for drink."
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,9061,1515389,00.html
