A shambles of a day for Tony.
The old chestnut he'd hoped to do away with, the reform of the House of Lords, has been completely derailed by a refusal by the Commons to reach any agreement whatsoever on what forms those reforms should take. All options, running the gamut from completely elected to completely appointed Lords, were turned away with contumely, and that puts the issue out of the reach of this Parliament.
And then the meeting with Jaques Chirac today, left Tony wafting in the French breeze, while Chirac managed to convey an honest concern over the Iraq issue. It was one-upmanship, and Tony came up short.
For the rest of us, the scene continues to unfold as out leaders play their game. The markets reflected the general lack of interest, as punters await the next round of dips to buy into the war machine.
The next steps involve the report from Colin Powell tomorrow to the Security Council, then the Inspectors report on the 14th..
The two finalists for the design of the new World Trade Center were announced today. Not that the final structures will look much like the projected designs, but the basic idea seems to be a constructed statement. Both designs would leave New York with the tallest buildings in the world again, and both incorporate some sense of memorial to that which stood before September 11th..
Both have been criticised by the holder of the lease on the 16 acre site, for lack of office space.
It is so difficult to strike the ballance between profit, and patriotism.