FINANCIAL TIMES: Tony Blair on Thursday marked the beginning of the end of his decade as Britain’s prime minister when he announced his intention to step down as prime minister on June 27, paving the way for a transfer of power to Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer.
Mr Blair’s long-awaited resignation plans, delivered to party activists in his Sedgefield constituency in north-east England, bring down the curtain on the longest-serving Labour prime minister, and the most dominant British political figure since Margaret Thatcher.
“Sometimes the only way you can conquer the pull of power is to set it down,” he said.
Mr Blair acknowledged that he had made mistakes and had provoked “grievances that fester”. Expectations of him were possibly too high when he won his first of three general election victories in 1997, he said.
But he is issued a powerful appeal to his critics to consider his achievements in the round and to accept that he took decision, including the decision to go to war in Iraq, in good faith. “I ask you to accept one thing: hand on heart, I did what I thought was right.”
Mr Blair summed up his legacy as leaving behind a Britain that is “comfortable in the 21st century, proud of its past, confident of its future”. Blair to step down as prime minister on June 27 (more) By Ben Hall
BBC: Tony Blair's time at the top
NZZ: Tony Blair tritt am 27. Juni zurück
NZZ: Blairs ungewisses Erbe: Der Erfinder von «New Labour» hat viel erreicht und manches versäumt
FAZ: Blair kündigt Rücktritt für Ende Juni an
WELTONLINE: Tony Blair meint, dass zehn Jahre genug sind
LE FIGARO: Blair tire sa reverence
LE MONDE: Tony Blair quittera Dowing Street le 27 juin
Mark Alexander
