"Tony Blair today vowed to push the controversial EU constitution — and set himself up for a bitter election battle over Europe’s powers," reported the March 26 London Evening Standard. "Mr. Blair’s uncompromising stance emerged after EU leaders in Brussels breathed new life into the constitution plan by setting a [June 30] deadline for a decision."

The draft EU constitution outlines a powerful centralized supranational state, complete with an elected president, a foreign minister and taxing powers. Polls conducted in Great Britain last year indicate that up to 80 percent of Britons oppose entry into the EU without a national referendum. However, Blair — who also committed his nation to the invasion of Iraq in the teeth of public opposition — is "determined to tough it out" by ramming through approval of the EU constitution.