The Transfer of Power

Yesterday was a monumental day in world politics. The UK has a new Prime Minister. That's right- as torrential rains and flooding continued to wreak havoc on the north of England, all eyes were on Westminster, where with very little ceremony, Tony Blair handed over the reins to Gordon Brown. Here's how it happened:

At noon, Tony Blair made his way to the House of Commons for his last Prime Minister's Questions. This is normally a time for ministers to ask questions and challenge the Prime Minister and then the Prime Minister gets to respond to each person. Yesterday, however, most of them just congratulated him on his ten years of service and patted him on the back. The highlight was when someone I don't know challenged Mr. Blair on something to do with the EU. (I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but it isn't easy to understand them with all the cheering and jeering going on in the background.) In response, Mr. Blair stood up and said something like, "I just don't think I'll be bothered with that one" and sat back down. Oh what fun!

After his standing ovation at the House of Commons, Mr. Blair made his way to the palace where he formally offered his resignation to the Queen. At that moment, there was NO PRIME MINISTER!!! Since it is always at this crucial moment when bad guys strike in film and television, I waited along with the rest of the country with baited breath as Gordon Brown waited for his call from the Queen. He received it and rushed to the palace, where the Queen apparently asked him to form a new government. He was in there for almost an hour as we all sat on the edge of our seats waiting and hoping he would emerge before anything terrible happened. Finally, he did emerge and we were all safe again. Phew! Today he has done what the Queen asked and formed a new government- shuffling everyone around like a Vegas black jack dealer. I look forward to seeing if it makes any difference at all.