Tony Blair’s Prime Christmas Card Gives Early Christmas Cheer

Tony and Cherie Blair’s Christmas card is garnering lots of attention this year and could be the season’s most popular and talked about greeting. The former Prime Minister of the U.K., accompanied by his wife, posed recently for the annual holiday salutation. The result was a photograph which has gone instantly viral and generated numerous hilarious, mocking and unflattering tweets. According to Metro News, the photograph has been verified with the former Prime Minister’s office as being authentic and the official 2014 Christmas greeting after some questioned the authenticity of the picture believing it was a joke or prank.

The Daily Mail reported the photo caused widespread mirth and ridicule because of “the awkwardness of their pose, the lack of festive cheer and most bizarrely of all Mr. Blair’s teeth.”

The photograph shows Blair baring numerous teeth in an almost feral smile while his wife stands next to him, hand limply laying on his chest, as she stares blankly off into space. As copies of the greeting card made their rounds on the internet, a Twitter hashtag sprouted which quickly went viral and became a dumping ground for a myriad of humorous and critical comments.

#ThingsLessUncomfortableThanTonyBlairsChristmasCard is a conglomeration of contributions from Tweeters including pictures of lumpy beds, rabid raccoons, bikini clad men at a wedding, and other uncomfortable photos meant to poke fun at Blair’s graceless and inelegant holiday offering.

The Melbourne Herald Sun gleefully reproduced some of the more festive comments from the Twittersphere which included a photo from Nosferatu. Most remarks, however, focused on Blair’s unflattering, almost angry, grimace and the huge display of teeth which were the focal point of the picture. Blair’s contorted smile was referred to by some as “the stuff of nightmares”, “terrifying” and “awkward”. Observations ranged from comparing Blair to a ventriloquist’s dummy, to a deer caught in headlights and to the Blair’s being held hostage and forced to smile for the camera.

There have been that comments U.S. President George W. Bush’s portrait of Blair, as previously reported by the Inquisitr, might be a more flattering photo for next year’s seasonal greeting card.

NBC News reported a spokeswoman for Tony Blair’s office confirmed that the card was “sent to friends and colleagues.” She added the politician’s office has not published it or posted it online, “but clearly a recipient has.”