His opponent, Antonio Villaraigosa, has risen rapidly from a background of left-wing politics in Latino East Los Angeles to the speakership of the California Assembly between 1998 and 2000.
It was noticeable during Mr Blair's speech to the national assembly that he received much warmer applause from the right-wing deputies than from his putative soul-mates on the left.
Since production began in November 1971, 2, 934 wing sets have been manufactured and delivered for the European Airbus consortium to the final assembly lines in France and Germany.