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Blair, Geldof in MTV Africa appealBy Robin Oakley  The politician and the rocker: Blair and Geldof share a stage on MTV. SPECIAL REPORT
• Special: G8 Summit 2005
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QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England (CNN) -- Politics is showbiz, and showbiz is politics. On the eve of the world leaders' meeting he will host, British Prime Minister Tony Blair wasn't closeted with advisers. He was with rocker Bob Geldof on MTV, appealing to those who'll be listening to -- and performing in -- this weekend's Live 8 concerts. Geldof, who will oversee the Live 8 concerts taking place around the world to raise awareness of African poverty, was a member of Blair's Africa Commission and gave a concise summary of its blueprint. "It says debt, trade and aid in exchange for the Africans coming to the party with good governance. If they don't come to the party, we can't help -- we'd love to, but we can't," Geldof told the MTV studio audience of young people from 24 nations Thursday. The alternative, he said, is unthinkable. "We continue to watch the carnival of death every night on our television screens forever in full glorious color and stereophonic sound, and indulge in the pornography of poverty. Not my world. I don't want it." Africa, said the prime minister, was a passion that had helped bring him into politics. And he had no regrets about making it the prime focus of the upcoming Group of Eight (G8) summit at Gleneagles, Scotland. "There are scores of children that are dying preventably in Africa. There are round about 30,000 that die every day from famine or disease or conflict. Its preventable, and I think that's a pretty powerful moral reason for acting in respect of Africa," Blair said. Blair hopes the G8 will cut Africa's debts, double the continent's aid and give Africans justice in trade. But will the summit do enough to satisfy those demanding that poverty be made history? "If what you say to me is there's a lot more we've got to do, I totally agree. But I don't think we should ignore that if we manage to do this this year, it's a big step forward," Blair said. For Blair there's a risk in focusing so strongly on Africa. Polls show many Britons are skeptical the aid money reaches the right quarters. But there's a chance too of winning back supporters he lost over the Iraq war. "The sort of people who are impressed with warm words over Africa are precisely the same group of people who hate Tony Blair so much because of the war," said Blair biographer John Rentoul. Yes, it's a convenient cause, say commentators. "But that's not to say it's not sincere as well," Rentoul said. Blair was once an aspiring rock musician himself, playing in a band called the Ugly Rumors. He understands the value of celebrity endorsements, and the backing of Geldof and Bono won't do him any harm. The British prime minister also may be calculating that a shove from Live 8 is just what G8 needs. The program is scheduled to be shown on MTV stations around the world starting Friday. 
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