In an article entitled “Nothing to fear except fear itself” in today’s Spectator (registration required) Simon Jenkins takes Tony Blair to task for the Sedgfield speech in which the prime minister told us that it was his
fervent view that the nature of the global threat we face in Britain and round the world is real and existential and it is the task of leadership to expose it and fight it, whatever the political cost
Jenkins demonstrates his depth of education by comparing Blair’s speech to the
apocalyptic waffle
of the 15th Century Florentine monk Savoranola
He also accused Blair of being out of his intellectual depth and questions his historical judgment. In Jenkins’ view
Daily life offers many risks, but that from terrorist attack is extremely slight
I wish he was right. But yesterday’s mass carnage in Madrid is a powerful argument for the fact that terrorism is real, that it is a potential danger to us all, and that burying your head in the sand is not a good strategy for dealing with it.
