TIME EUROPE
July 17, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 3
That's Another Fine Mess
An underage drinking spree sees Euan Blair arrested, and his dad nursing a political hangover
By J.F.O. McALLISTER London
Drunks are common in leicester Square, London, where the concentration of theaters, cheap restaurants and pubs draws a crowd of revelers every evening. It didn't surprise police there last Wednesday when a woman pointed out a young man lying face down on the pavement, vomit on his trousers, close to unconscious. They radioed for an ambulance. When the paramedics decided he didn't need their help, the youth was arrested for being "drunk and incapable" and taken to the local station. There he gave his name as Euan John, 18, and an address in North London.
Except, as the police discovered by searching his pockets, the boy who drank too much was really Euan Blair, 16, of 10 Downing St., son of a Prime Minister who can't seem to catch a break these days.
This hardly unusual rite of adolescence was a problem for Tony Blair in several dimensions. Euan himself, said to have been celebrating with friends the end of his exams, was driven home at 1 a.m. by detectives and went woozily to bed. Because he lied to the police, he could have been prosecuted. Both parents accompanied him to a meeting with police on Friday, where he received a reprimand instead. A good student and likable boy who has never been in such trouble before, that should be the end of it.
Alastair Campbell, the Downing St. spokesman, pointed out that while Euan was not likely to have been the only teenager hung over after celebrating the end of exams, "he would be the only one whose picture was splashed all over the papers and television." Indeed the reaction of most commentators was sympathy for the Blairs. But only the previous week, responding to public rage about football hooligans, the Prime Minister had proposed giving the police powers to "levy on-the-spot fines for drunken, noisy, loutish and antisocial behavior," and if necessary escort them to cash machines to collect. That proposal was rejected by police as impractical and by Conservatives as a gimmick. While Euan's peaceful sprawl was not the kind of offense the fines were intended to cover, his arrest made Blair seem doubly hapless.
For several weeks he has looked rattled and tired. He was occasionally close to tears during a speech the morning after Euan's arrest. His cabinet is fighting over the euro and the Tories are drawing blood with attacks on his trustworthiness. Blair quoted Longfellow in his speech: "For thine own purpose, thou has sent/The strife and the discouragement!"
Polls show that voters increasingly dislike Blair's moralizing tone; thus it may not hurt him to be seen as more fallible. It would be ironic if the strife Euan has sent can persuade people that his dad is a regular guy with problems like everyone else's. But if so, Blair may one day have reason to buy his son a drink. One.
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July 17, 2000
COVER
The Lure of Ecstasy
The elixir best known for powering raves is an 80-year-old illegal drug. But it's showing up outside clubs too, and advocates claim it even has therapeutic benefits. Just how dangerous is it?
Rave New World
It's more than just ecstasy. The youth culture is in thrall to deejays and floats on the relentless beat of electronic music
EUROPE
Putin's Hard 100
The honeymoon's over for Russia's new leader as he battles on military, political and economic fronts
Putin's Chechnya Nightmare
The War the Kremlin Said Was Won
The Haider Effect
Isolated and angry over diplomatic sanctions, Austria threatens to raise the stakes on E.U. enlargement
That's Another Fine Mess
An underage drinking spree sees Euan Blair arrested, and his dad nursing a political hangover
Sun, Sand and Toxic Waste
For the first time ever the European Court of Justice fines an E.U. member state
Europe's Not Up in Arms
A Euro Army is the declared goal, but there's more smoke than firepower
MIDDLE EAST
Why Arafat's in a State
He wants a Palestinian nation, but fears that his people won't forgive him if he makes concessions
The Modern Mullah
One of the architects of Khomeini's revolution has become a guru of Islamic reform in Iran
AFRICA
Fatal Destiny
Experts are meeting in South Africa to combat a plague ravaging the continent — but already there are disputes over the right strategy
Death Row
Kenyans would rather not talk about the disease that is destroying lives and threatening the economy
The Cost Of Living
Pharmaceutical Companies and Drugs
A Distant Mirror
Europe's Black Death is a history lesson in human tragedy — and economic renewal
BUSINESS
Keep the Change
Turkey's government takes on the structural problems at the heart of the country's economy
The Infoanarchist
Could this 23-year-old Irish programmer begin to unravel the Web?
The Data Haven
Closely Guarded Secrets
RELIGION
The Stained Glass Ceiling
Despite stubbornly held conservative attitudes, women are claiming their place in the pulpit
DEPARTMENTS
To Our Readers
Tech Watch
World Watch
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