Tony Blair planning a «people´s holiday» on Minorca

Tony Blair was accused of doing little to help the British tourist undustry during the foot-and-mouth outbreak earlier this year but the Prime Minister has certainly given the Balearic tourist industry a boost as it is widely rumoured that he will holiday with his family this year in Minorca. The Blairs are believed to be planning a “People's Holiday” staying in a 6-bedroomed rented villa on Minorca, probably later this month. Spanish Prime Minister and Blair's close friend Jose Maria Aznar has also choosen Minorca as his holiday isle this year. Presently estate agents, according to yesterday's Daily Telegraph are scouting for a suitable home for the Blair family. It appears that the Prime Minister has decided against Tuscany this year in favour of Minorca which attracts an estimated one million tourists a year. Mahon airport was severely affected by the coach drivers' strike last weekend and bookings have fallen to the island. Aznar has said that he was concerned at the bad image the Balearics had received in Britain as a result of the coach strike. Enter Tony Blair and his family who could spend up to seven days on the islands and affectively give the tourist industry a major lift. The rumours have been welcomed by the Minorcan Tourism Authorities. Aznar and Blair have developed a close working relationship despite their different political views as the Spanish Prime Minister is a conservative. The Spanish PM came to the Blair's aid over the crippled Royal Navy nuclear submarine Tireless being repaired in Gibraltar. Despite a wave of protest across Spain, Aznar stood firm backing his friend who came to Madrid at the height of the “diplomatic war of words”. After their mini-summit in Madrid in November the Blairs and the Aznars enjoyed a short holiday together. Two years earlier Blair travelled for a holiday in Spain just hours after the signing of the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland. If the rumours are confirmed then Tony Blair needn't worry too much about his cabinet inner circle. His Home Secretary David Blunkett will be just a few kilometres away in Pollensa. The Home Secretary has been luckier than Blair. He has already found his house and it is already rented for two weeks.