Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Blair Looks Back on Tenure as PM

"We will not succeed simply by military or security means. It is a political challenge."

By J. Kelman, Newser User

Posted Jun 1, 2007 12:23 PM CDT

(Newser) – In a wide-ranging essay that offers few apologies, Tony Blair reflects on his decade as prime minister and argues that Britain must stand in the world as “a player not a spectator.” Writing in the Economist, Blair discusses the shifting landscape of his time in office, the challenges that have defined his tenure, and prescriptions for the future.

Blair, who leaves office June 27, earnestly entreats Westerners to stay in Iraq and "stand up for our own values." He also shows signs of the pragmatist who helped return Labor to power: Even in an age of terrorism, he writes, "we all run for office concentrating on domestic issues. 'Foreign' policy rarely wins votes, and can easily lose them."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie at London's Heathrow Airport as they leave for a five-day trip to Africa Tuesday May 29, 2007. Blair flew to Libya Tuesday for the first leg of a... (Associated Press)

A duck is followed by ducklings, bottom, as they walk past Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair official residence at 10 Downing Street, central London, Thursday May 24, 2007. Blair is stepping down as... (Associated Press)

Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair listens to an interpreter during a news conference in the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 19, 2007. Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony... (Associated Press)

Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, right, waves during a visit to a local local community radio station in Soweto, South Africa, Thursday, May 31, 2007. Blair arrived in South Africa on Thursday, and... (Associated Press)

British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, before an address to the University of South Africa School of Business in Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday May 31, 2007. Blair is in the country on the final leg... (Associated Press)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Brown Appoints Archrival to Rejoin Cabinet

Blair ally returns to British government in surprise move

(NEWSER) - Gordon Brown shocked the British political establishment by reappointing one of his long-time enemies to his Cabinet. Peter Mandelson, who with Brown and Tony Blair was an architect of New Labour, will be made a lord and become the new business secretary. The return of Mandelson, currently serving in Brussels as the EU's trade commissioner, is "the most astonishing political reconcilation of modern times," writes the Times of London. More»

Leaked Blair Memo Blasts Brown 'Vacuity'

Leadership challenge gains steam as ex-PM slams successor

(NEWSER) - Gordon Brown took further lashed from his own party over the weekend as allies of Tony Blair leaked an old memo from the former prime minister bashing Brown's tenure. In the memo, written last year after Brown called off a mooted snap election, Blair accuses his successor of "hubris and vacuity." Blairites are also preparing to launch a series of statements and policy proposals to force Brown out. More»

Brown Leans Right In Major Speech

PM's first address to unions rebuffs demands for pay raises

(NEWSER) - Gordon Brown received a cool reception in his first address as prime minister to Britain's Trade Union Conference, traditionally Labour's largest constituency. After 10 years of tense relations with Tony Blair, the unions had hoped that Brown would offer a more left-wing policy. But Brown insisted that he would oppose their demands for pay rises, the Times of London reports. More»

Brown Downplays US Fissure

New PM will visit Camp David, insists he isn't 'America's poodle'

(NEWSER) - Britain's new Prime Minister is set to meet with President Bush at Camp David next week amid rumors that relations between the two nations have cooled since Tony Blair's departure. Brown is walking a tightrope between rebuffing this speculation and being seen as "America's poodle," an epithet Blair earned for his close collaboration with Bush. More»

Exit Blair

PM takes final questions; queen asks Brown to form government

(NEWSER) - Tony Blair handed his resignation to the queen at 1:15 this afternoon, ending a decade as prime minister of the United Kingdom marked by unprecedented prosperity but marred by a deeply unpopular war in Iraq. In a choreographed ritual, Elizabeth II asked Chancellor Gordon Brown, who has been waiting patiently for the question for 13 years, to form a government. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Blair Looks Back on Tenure as PM

"We will not succeed simply by military or security means. It is a political challenge."

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Iraq • Tony Blair • United Kingdom • Labour Party • Britain

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Brown Appoints Archrival to Rejoin Cabinet

Blair ally returns to British government in surprise move

Leaked Blair Memo Blasts Brown 'Vacuity'

Leadership challenge gains steam as ex-PM slams successor

Brown Leans Right In Major Speech

PM's first address to unions rebuffs demands for pay raises

Brown Downplays US Fissure

New PM will visit Camp David, insists he isn't 'America's poodle'

Exit Blair

PM takes final questions; queen asks Brown to form government

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Blair Looks Back on Tenure as PM

"We will not succeed simply by military or security means. It is a political challenge."

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Iraq • Tony Blair • United Kingdom • Labour Party • Britain

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Brown Appoints Archrival to Rejoin Cabinet

Blair ally returns to British government in surprise move

Leaked Blair Memo Blasts Brown 'Vacuity'

Leadership challenge gains steam as ex-PM slams successor

Brown Leans Right In Major Speech

PM's first address to unions rebuffs demands for pay raises

Brown Downplays US Fissure

New PM will visit Camp David, insists he isn't 'America's poodle'

Exit Blair

PM takes final questions; queen asks Brown to form government

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?