Wife’s Pregnancy Delivers Political Boost for British Premier

Peace may be breaking out in Northern Ireland, and Prime Minister Tony Blair may have just met with world leaders to discuss the future of mankind in the new millennium, but to taxi drivers, supermarket cashiers, commuters and just about anyone else in Britain, the real news is Cherie Blair’s pregnancy at 45.

For all practical purposes, England is expecting.

The surprise pregnancy is a boon to the Blair family, of course, but also to the political fortunes of a prime minister who, suddenly looking more virile, saw his ratings soar 5% over the weekend.

It’s good for British business too. A vitamin company was quick to capitalize on New Labor’s new labor with a newspaper advertisement addressed to “Tony”:

“Expecting the patter of tiny little feet might be a nice surprise. But with a country to run as well, these coming months could be stressful times,” it said.

The solution for such a world leader was, of course, a multiple vitamin.

For newspapers, this midlife Downing Street pregnancy is gold. Tabloids and broadsheets alike have mined the rich subject of just where this May 2000 baby might have been conceived: Is it an Italian bambino, the product of sunshine and Chianti on a Tuscan holiday in August? Or did chablis at a chateau in southern France the following week work the miracle?

Or what about Scotland? Front pages raised the tantalizing possibility that the Blairs engaged in some hanky-panky at Balmoral, Queen Elizabeth II’s Scottish castle, where they stayed in September.

“I think it’s probably British, in fact,” the prime minister responded dryly to political reporters.

The couple admit to having been stunned by the news that, with three teen and preteen children on hand, they will be changing diapers again in their 40s and will still have a child in school when they retire. (No, abortion was never a consideration--she is a devout Roman Catholic and he has the politically sensitive job of prime minister.)

Part of Tony Blair’s new appeal seems to be the image of a control freak, as the prime minister is known, caught so charmingly off guard.

Having overcome the initial shock, the Blairs say they are thrilled at the prospect of becoming parents again. Not, perhaps, as thrilled as the government spin doctors must be. They foresee a delivery right around the time of London’s first mayoral election--when Labor surely will need a good push and when the government’s popularity might normally be sagging after three years in office.

Yes, a baby of his own to kiss might be just the thing for Labor’s top politician.

A Blair baby also may promote feminist causes in a country still behind the curve on that front. Blair will be under pressure to take paternity leave and to help out with the baby in the middle of the night, as he reportedly did with the couple’s other children.

“It is good for men who are ambitious to see the most ambitious man around with time for his family,” said Natasha Walter, author of “The New Feminism.”

As for Cherie Blair--a lawyer and judge who uses her maiden name, Booth, and whose salary is nearly twice her husband’s--”she has been a good role model for women, happy in her family and at work. This may not be an issue in the States, but it is quite important here where there is still a lot of talk about whether women can do both,” Walter said.

But on a cautionary note, she added: “Once she’s back in court, I fear there is going to be lots of sniping from the press about how she is not a good mother. . . .”

But right now, any fears about the future are dwarfed by a collective joy over the good news.

“The miracle of a baby is understood in every family. It puts politics into perspective. It gives a sounder promise for the future than a manifesto,” the Times of London enthused in a weekend editorial. The pregnancy at 10 Downing Street “is a symbol of hope and a stake in the future.”