Tony's Gaff

During Tony Blair's latest cop-out interview on The Daily Show (one of the least funny shows on US television, by the way), he said it would have been "difficult" for him to have converted to Catholicism during his premiership, because religion is seen as "a very private matter" in Britain. Let me explain why he's wrong. The real reason why it would have been very, very difficult is much more simple. The fact is, people are educated beyond the quasi-fatuous, unquestioning nature of American school-children. When we hear of Palin's evangelism, or Obama's devotion to his faith, we're sickened by its welcome. If our Prime Minister proclaimed anything beyond a mild interest in private religion they would undoubtedly be publicly destroyed; it would be, I'm proud to say, an act of political suicide. Let me join the swathes of elevated people in the US who predict that it's only a matter of time before the same phenomenon occurs in American politics and campaigning. Whether this is the product of a distancing attempt on behalf of the British population away from the Muslim uprising remains to be clarified. We've all had a 9/11 moment - it could be the fatwa released against Salman Rushdie in 1989, or the Danish cartoon killings in 2006, etc. - but any act that is seen to alienate the people carrying out these faith-motivated actions is embraced; denouncing religion is one such act. And so, even Bush's claim that he was motivated by his prayers to invade Iraq made many British people choke on their cornflakes. Glad I cleared that one up.