Tony Blair has announced that he’s resigning his position as Britain’s Prime Minister effective June 27.
“‘I’ve been prime minister of this country for just over 10 years,” he told supporters in his in his Parliamentary constituency.
“In this job, in the world of today, I think that’s long enough for me but more especially for the country. Sometimes the only way you conquer the pull of power is to set it down.”
Blair was a popular and successful Prime Minister until he let W sucker him into the Iraq War.
The first term was marked by several significant initiatives: the Bank of England was given the freedom to set interest rates, Scotland and Wales were given regional governments, London gained an elected mayor and all but 92 hereditary members were ejected from the House of Lords.
In 1998, Blair and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern led successful negotiations for a peace agreement in Northern Ireland, launching a process which reached its culmination earlier this week as former enemies from the Protestant and Catholic communities joined to form a new regional government.
The Iraq war severely dented Blair’s popularity. Blair’s close alliance with President Bush was unpopular at home, there were mass marches in Britain opposing the U.S.-led invasion before it began, and the government’s claims that Saddam Hussein was building an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction proved false.
Too bad George and Dick won’t follow Tony’s lead this time.
You know, I don’t think it was the Iraq war so much as it was his insincerity that people here hate. The British forces in Iraq, and the number of British forces who’ve died, are far less than in the US, so people here aren’t as mad about that as they are about his general personality, which they perceive as false.
Thanks, KathyF. I figured the linked article was missing something in its analysis. It makes sense that people who think Blair is insincere would be less likely to support him on controversial issues.