People have been left in hysterics after a statue of Tony Blair unveiled in Kosovo, drew comparisons to Australian actor and Neighbours star Jason Donovan.
The sculpture was unveiled in Ferizaj, Kosovo on Wednesday (12 June) to celebrate 25 years of independence from the former state of Yugoslavia, where Blair played a role in Nato discussions. The former prime minister was in attendance at the unveiling on Blair Boulevard, and addressed MPs in a special session in Kosovo’s parliament.
But a post shared by Blair’s former secretary Alistair Campbell went viral after he shared the image in a bid to urge the public to vote for the Labour party, but responses to the post became comical immediately.
“Statue of Tony Blair unveiled in Kosovo,” wrote Campbell. “Not sure where, if anywhere, statues will be raised to any of the five PMs who have taken our country backwards in the last 14 years. Vote Labour if you want a serious government that gets stuff done.”
But users couldn’t believe their eyes at the unveiled figure, and were convinced there had been a mistake.
“Jason Donovan statue revealed lol. Should be Tony Blair,” joked one user on X/Twitter.
“That’s Jason Donovan...” added another.
Others referenced the 56-year-old’s songs as they wrote, “I closed my eyes, Drew back the curtain, Ah-ah ARRRRGHHHH... F***. Is that supposed to be Jason Donovan?”
One person captioned the image, “A young Jason Donovan captured waving goodbye to his relationship with Kylie ‘Too Many Broken Hearts in the World’.”
“Looked at why Jason Donovan was trending, now can’t unsee how much he looks like Tony Blair,” wrote another.
Donovan starred alongside Kylie Minogue in the hit US soap, Neighbours. He rose to fame on the show, playing Scott Robinson from 1985 to 1989, before embarking on his solo singing career. Minogue played his love interest Charlene.
The pair reunited in July 2022 and reflected on their return to the show.
“I didn’t really see it happening ... but now that it is happening, it feels right,” Minogue said of her comeback, while Donovan said the appearance will be a “homage” rather than a “big moment.”
“To try and recreate the past is very difficult. This is not trying to recreate the past, this is actually just giving a nod to those characters, and what the street has done for us,” he added.
Others were less impressed by the statue as they added, “Good. Iraqis can throw their shoe at it.”
