Bliar, Bliar!
I've just finished editing 91Èȱ¬ Newsline 6.30's version of my Tony Blair interview. The former Prime Minister defended his "stretching the truth" back in 2006 as a commonsense tactic to keep the peace process on track. He dismissed criticism that this meant the St. Andrew's Agreement was built on lies as "exaggerated" and felt most people would have backed him in the circumstances.
In truth the DUP and Sinn Fein can hardly have expected HMG to pass on all messages between them in a completely unvarnished form. The UK government was not a disinterested observer at the time. Rather it was straining every sinew to move the process towards a satisfactory conclusion. At the same time was Mr Blair wise to be frank? What will the Palestinians and Israelis think if he were in the future to assure them of each others' bona fides?
Still the "stretching the truth" story got me thinking about what the peace process would have looked like if our politicians had been struck by the truth bug which hit Jim Carrey in the film (incidentally the comedy was released in 1997 - the year Mr Blair entered Downing Street).
Would we have had Sinn Fein leaders saying "I know it looks bad me carrying this tricolour covered coffin, but I have no choice if I am going to throw out every republican shibboleth in a few months' time"? Or Ian Paisley pronouncing "never, never never until we top the poll"? Or the British and Irish governments admitting that they really regarded the local statesmen they hosted in a series of stately homes as "rude, ungrateful backwoodsmen"?
It might have been fun while it lasted. But how long would it have lasted?
I'm 
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