LONDON — By conventional wisdom, David Blunkett should not have made it to the top of British government.
The home secretary is a politician who doesn't suffer fools. He is unflinchingly blunt in an administration that weighs every word. And Blunkett, the country's chief law enforcement officer, is blind.
Add to that the fact that his guide dog threw up in the venerable House of Commons debating chamber--most impolite--and Blunkett should be back in working-class Sheffield where his early teachers suggested a career in piano tuning.
Blunkett, however, has never allowed conventional thinking to get in his way. Despite his hardships, or perhaps because of them, he has risen to one of the most powerful posts in Britain and is among the most effective members of Prime Minister Tony Blair's Cabinet. Increasingly, he is mentioned as a potential heir to the Labor Party leadership--particularly by those who dislike Gordon Brown, the ambitious chancellor of the exchequer--whenever Blair moves aside.
But could he--would he--do the job at 10 Downing St.? And would Britain elect a blind prime minister?
"Fortunately, there isn't a vacancy," Blunkett said in an interview.
"It is unlikely that Britain would be ready for a blind prime minister because it takes a long time for people to get used to the idea that someone with a disability can work at the level I am working at now," he said. Besides, he added, "I am working at my capacity, and I enjoy the job I have very much."
Such candor from the 54-year-old Blunkett has not quashed speculation among the chattering classes. Nor has the fact that the job of top cop rarely serves as a springboard to the prime minister's office.
Blunkett's high standing is all the more remarkable given the times, during which he has taken responsibility for such controversial issues as immigration, law enforcement and the nation's security. He assumed the Home Office portfolio last summer as Britain's worst race riots in decades broke out in northern England, and a few months before the Sept. 11 attacks. The events thrust him to the forefront of debates on race, crime and civil rights almost before he had unpacked.
His responses have confounded critics and allies alike. Blunkett offended many traditional Labor Party supporters by threatening to use water cannons against rioters of South Asian ancestry. He insisted that immigrants should learn English and adopt British ways when coming into "our home," although most of the rioters were British-born. And he introduced detention centers for asylum seekers, a move long favored by the opposition Tories.
