"I will teach (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair a lesson," said Galloway

By Mustafa Abdel-Halim, IOL Staff

CAIRO, December 24 (IslamOnline.net) – British anti-war MP George Galloway said he might run for 2005 elections under his own political party, vowing to teach incumbent Prime Minister Tony Blair a hard lesson.

"Although it is not easy to create a party, but we may do it," Galloway has told IslamOnline.net.

Asked whether the new party could muster as much potential support among British people, the outspoken politician answered with the same impetuous vigor he has been known for.

"Sure. We have the support of British Muslims" as well as many of those anti-war opponents "including unionists, students, people in the left and within the Labor Party itself," he said while attending a anti-occupation conference in Cairo last week.

"I will teach (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair a lesson," the vociferous opponent to the Iraq invasion said.

The party creation would allow Galloway to run for the Prime Minister post.

Under all circumstances, the now-independent MP for Glasgow Kelvin said he would not run independent for coming parliamentary elections.

"I will join the polls under Respect Unity Coalition," which fights for representative democracy in Britain and Europe and which will transform the political landscape forever,” he said.

The main campaigning issue of the group, which Galloway says could be the basis for his party, is withdrawing troops from Iraq and letting the people of the now-occupied country decide their own future.

Also seeking to endear itself to other new faces, the group would also want to "restore trade union rights and guarantee equality, tolerance and a multicultural society", according to the Respect Unity Coalition website.

"I am very confident I will be in the next Parliament. I am very mobilized for this," Galloway said.

But he noted that his political offensive will begin with the European Parliament.

"We'll stand candidates in every European seat in England and Wales," said the firebrand MP, who enjoys high popularity in his mostly-Muslim inhabited constituency.

Galloway was expelled from the Labor Party in October after 34 years because of his anti-war comments that called for British forces to defy deployment orders to Iraq, dubbing U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister "wolves".

But Galloway, long survived earlier similar challenges, kept adamant, seeing chances for success much greater especially after Blair's downfall – which he expected to happen by the end of next year when British people realize that the invasion of Iraq had been based on false pretexts.

"Blair knows, and I know, and most British people know, that I was right and telling the truth about Iraq and he was lying about this," he said.

Having found no weapons of mass destruction – the main justification for making the case against Iraq – and the growing Iraqi resistance attacks against occupation forces have left Galloway with much support to other war-opponents.

"Far from Iraq giving me many things, I have given everything for Iraq. I don't regret it. And I still believe in what I did," the orate MP said.

Skeptical

But the idea of forming a political party was greeted with skepticism, even among what Galloway called his most avid supporters.

"A few number of Muslims will vote for Galloway's party if it would join the elections, as the community always seek to align with mainstream influential parties rather than minority marginal groups," Ahmed Versi, of Muslim News, the mouthpiece of the nearly two-million Muslims in London, told IOL.

Versi said the then new Islamic Party of Britain only got 200 votes in 1989 elections even in the heavily-Muslim populated Bredford in the North and also proved a complete failure in another southern constituency also dominated by Muslims a few years later.

Baroness Uddin, a Muslim member of the House of lords, said that Galloway stood no chance if he thought that his party could live up to the competition (depending on the support of ethnic minorities and anti-war opponents).

"It is nonsense, we tend to support mainstream political parties," she said.

Galloway had earlier boasted that "I am not without support in the country, not least within the Muslim community which feels virtually powerless and almost voiceless amidst the catastrophe in Iraq”.

Analysts said that the new party could be for Galloway's self-promotion after being hounded from Labor Party and efforts to reinstate him a few weeks ago ended in failure.

"Also, Conservatives would be reluctant to accept the controversial maverick into their own ranks after he was barred from representing Labor in any way," a British writer said, on condition of anonymity.