A couple of commentators, such as Daniel Finkelstein in today's Times, have rightly remarked on the elephant in the room in this election campaign -- the war in Iraq. As Finkelstein says, whatever view you took on the war it is an enormously significant issue, both in terms of holding the Prime Minister to account for what has already happened and, no less important, debating his foreign policy of the future.

Whether you think he took the country to war on a lie or that he acted in good faith throughout, whether you think that supporting the development of democratic institutions in the Middle East is an inspired way of bringing peace or is playing with fundamentalist fire, Iraq and its associated foreign policy decisions are among the biggest issues of the day. That's why so many people are bringing up Iraq on the doorstep.

And yet there is a conspiracy of silence on the subject. No politician is mentioning it. It's not clear why the LibDems are so silent, since they had a very clear position opposing the war. The Tories are silent because a) their position became Kerry-esque in its opportunistic backsliding and b) they haven't got the bottle to support their signature desire to cut taxes, let alone face the wrath of the people over the war in Iraq. And Tony Blair was obviously advised to avoid the subject like the plague in case he got lynched.

Like just about everything else in his handling of this issue, I think he's made the wrong judgment call yet again. This was an opportunity to stand up and defend the decision he took, not run in the opposite direction. He could have produced a few home truths about the gross rewriting of history that's gone on, and reminded people of facts that have somehow fallen by the wayside. He'd have got brownie points for courage, and people might have learned something. Instead, his silence is surely piling contempt upon fury. And meanwhile, the election debate is simply ignoring the great issue of our time.

Posted by melanie at April 20, 2005