Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is once again advising the Albanian government on a range of matters, apparently free of charge.
An announcement published on the Tony Blair Institute website advertises a job for a senior advisor to work with the Albanian government to “advance an ambitious transformation agenda” set by the prime minister and deputy prime minister.
The call specifies public sector reforms, the national political agenda, digital transformation, energy reform, and government transformation as key areas of focus.
“The adviser will work closely with government counterparts in the Prime Minister’s office and the relevant ministries and agencies,” the Tony Blair Institute said in a statement.
Strategic advice on domestic and international policy issues as well as communication and PR methods to promote “project successes in public” are listed among the areas of responsibility of the advisor.
Blair has previously advised the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama through “Tony Blair Associates” – a collaboration that began in 2013 and was declared closed in 2016. However, Blair’s work in Albania remained a mystery and was never really revealed.
When asked how the consultancy work would be funded, Endri Fuga, Rama’s advisor told BIRN that “we do not have any financing agreements.”
“From time to time, they offer free consulting. We don’t pay anything. Albanian taxpayers do not pay anything,” he added.
Blair has advised the governments of Azerbaijan, Abu Dhabi, Kazakhstan and allegedly, Egypt.
Controversies and the Iraq war
The former prime minister remains a controversial figure in the UK, due to the circumstances around the country’s involvement in the Iraq war and the Chilcott Report, which found the reasons for military action were unjustified. He has been accused of war crimes, and figures such as Bishop Desmond Tutu and Harold Pinter have called for his trial at the International Criminal Court.
In November 2011, a war crimes tribunal of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission, established by Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, reached a unanimous conclusion that Blair and George W. Bush are guilty of crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and genocide as a result of their roles in the 2003–2011 Iraq War.
In July 2017, former Iraqi general Abdulwaheed al-Rabbat launched a private war crimes prosecution in the High Court in London, asking for Tony Blair, former foreign secretary Jack Straw and former attorney general Lord Goldsmith to be prosecuted for “the crime of aggression” for their role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The High Court ruled that, although the crime of aggression was recognised in international law, it was not an offence under UK law, and, therefore, the prosecution could not proceed.
Despite this, Blair is the only living Labour Party leader to have led them to an electoral victory and only one of two in history to form three majority governments. He is known for his centrist “third way” approach and policies and used the phrase “New Labour” to mark a departure from the politics of the past.
