MovieChat Forums > Tony Blair Discussion > Though this slice of trivia would probab...

Though this slice of trivia would probably be of little interest to anyone but...

posted 4 years ago by TheMan18 (13015)
5 replies | jump to latest

... prominent, well known and greatly admired and respected Russian journalist Leonid Parfenov (his last name is pronounced "Par-fyo-nov"), now 61 years old, in his show "Namedni", actually spoke rather positively of Tony Blair at least twice.

For one, in his 1997 episode of that show about the death of Princess Diana, he felt that Tony Blair's speech was "brilliant" (nowadays, many in UK think it was a show-off and that he was trying too hard to make a name for himself) and in 2001, again in "Namedni" (the word means "lately" in Russian) he also enthusiastically spoke about Blair's labour party victory and has even eaten a chocolate with Blair's face on it, lol.

Mr Parfenov HAS by the way in "Namedni" 2003 mentioned the Iraq war but he wasn't TOO critical of Mr Blair and UK's involvement in it, he was at best restrained as well as calm and neutral.

I wonder though, and again, I am not being critical (I quite like Parfenov and Namedni myself, although, more on that later, that show has stopped working since 2004) but is Mr Parfenov aware as to to what extent the Iraq war in UK has damaged Mr Blair's reputation and that many now consider him a war criminal and a major outcast at least from the court of public opinion? And has he (though I bet he probably has!, it was on mainstream Russian news too) caught up with the information about the Chilcot enquiry, the several Ireland and London protests, the views of people like George Galloway and Jeremy Corbyn etc and has it shocked him as to what Mr Blair became and does he also now find him guilty of abusing political power, unlawful invasion of Iraq, betrayal of Britain etc etc etc?

[–] TheMan18 (13015) 4 years ago

For that matter, given how, and I suppose many would agree, Iraq wasn't Blair's only major blunder and information also has come to light about his other dark sides, I wonder if maybe one day Mr Parfenov can and will make his own show that can also reveal some of this as well for it may simply be that "he doesn't know him like we do", we will wait and see.

[–] TriumphReq (1857) 3 years ago

"blunder" is a hell of a understated way to state a War of Aggression which is also is a War Crime under the Nuremberg Charter. Don't forget he also "blundered" by going into Afghanistan. People like me were campaigning against it and being called "misguided" by the same ignoramouses that need flashy words and logic to be told anything that should be common sense. These same kinds of people are still around and they have gotten more stupid and worse, for example supporting Trump. Why do they ALWAYS NEED 20 years to find out the hard way that they were wrong all along when they simply could have listened to the people who know how these things work? Though I do not think Blair is or ever could be a Trumpist his personal agenda was stamping out the IRA and sending that message that we'll go bezerk and destroy the whole world if you keep demanding your land back type of thinking. He needed a catalyst and the fictional threat from Afghanistan and Iraq was it.

[–] TheMan18 (13015) 3 years ago

I said MAJOR BLUNDER and yes that could encompass "war crime" also, and I partially used the former term because Mr Blair has NOT actually been CHARGED and CONVICTED after all this time (see also Chilcot enquiry etc).

[–] TheMan18 (13015) 3 years ago

And the point also was - Tony Blair was criticized for OTHER matters too besides Iraq and some of them were even war-related, also early in 1999, there was a news report how at one point, where he visited, there were mass protests, some of them ended in injuries and even at least one death, and he was actually at the time ALREADY criticized and under scrutiny for his Iraq campaign before stepping it up several notches in 2003 with the new POTUS that is Mr Dubya Bush.

And this is in contrast with how Mr Leonid Parfenov at times spoke POSITIVELY of Mr Blair in his show.

[–] TheMan18 (13015) 3 years ago

By the way TriumphReq, as much as you are welcome and I appreciate what you have to say on the matters concerning the wrongness of Iraq war, the understatement of the word "blunder" or even the term "MAJOR blunder" in such case (which MAY at least theoretically encompass "war crime" just as wrong may encompass "a fatal error" as much as a mistake), Tony Blair in general but what do you think...

Of the very theme/issue I have mentioned in the thread that opens this post, it being, the fact that on one Russian show, a prominent and respectable journalist has actually at times spoken POSITIVELY of Tony Blair, in contrast to how at the very least, his reputation in the eyes of the majority of UK and the world fell after the Iraq war, and many "dodgy" aspects coming to light in evidence that the war was wrong, fought on false premises, was disastrous, disregarded UN rules and regulations etc etc etc?

I know you may NOT be familiar with Russian TV and the Russian show Namedni and its presenter Leonid Parfenov but still... Cheers.