"SORRY, DID I HURT YOU?":

Blair risks Chirac wrath over 'social model' (Press Association, July 1, 2005, Guardian Unlimited)

Mr Blair, appearing in London at a joint press conference with the European commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, said the informal gathering of EU leaders would be held in Britain some time in the autumn.

He said it would consider a paper drawn up by the commission on the "dilemma" of how to make the old social model relevant to the demands of the new globalised economy.

"Obviously it is taking something of a risk to go right to the heart of the issue of the social model, but I think it's sensible to do it. Everybody knows that's the debate going on in Europe so let's just have it," he said.

"Europe is not just about free trade and it is not just about the economy, but it is no use us trying to compete in the tough, changing world unless we are prepared to make the changes necessary, including not abandoning our social model, but updating it and modernising it."

With his announcement, Mr Blair was effectively opening up a new front in Europe following his demands for reform of the EU finances and an end to the generous farm subsidies that absorb 40% of the budget.

France and Germany - long the main driving force in Europe - have traditionally been the champions of the social model, which offers a high level of benefits and employment rights to its citizens.

However, with both Mr Chirac and the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, politically weakened, Mr Blair has seized the opportunity to push the case for the so-called "Anglo-Saxon model" of lighter regulation and greater labour market flexibility.

Why does the wrath of Chirac remind one of the sexual prowess of the mouse vis-a-vis the elephant in the old joke?

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 1, 2005 3:41 PM