| It was May 1st, 1997, when a young and smiling Tony Blair entered the gates of Downing Street hand in hand with his wife Cherie. Now, after ten years, it is time to leave. Mr. Blair has announced that he will resign his position before his Labor’s Party next annual conference in September and for the first time he has also publicly lent his support to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to take over as the next British Prime Minister. Campaigning in Scotland on Tuesday, he said: "In all probability a Scot will become prime minister of the United Kingdom, someone who has built our economy into one of the strongest in the world, and who, as I have said many times before, would make a great prime minister for Britain." Gordon Brown, as an answer, wrote in The Sun newspaper that he was "honored" to call Mr. Blair his "oldest friend in politics", while admitting there had been "ups and downs" along the way. Among the “ups”, one could list: reducing the waiting lists in the hospitals; transforming the primary education system; decreasing the overall level of criminality; granting devolution to Scotland and Wales and completing the peace process in Northern Ireland. As for the “downs”, Blair is certainly still paying for the war in Iraq in terms of credibility with his voters. According to The Independent, seven out of ten Britons believe that Iraq will be one of Tony Blair’s enduring legacies.
Conservative Leader David Cameron, giving his reaction to Mr. Blair's 10th anniversary, said: "Tony Blair's time as prime minister started with great hope but has ended with disappointment. He will be remembered as a successful party leader but not as a good prime minister." |
