Manchester, England – Tony Blair, in his final address to his governing Labor Party as prime minister, said Tuesday that being the United States’ strongest ally can be difficult, but it is crucial to stay close to Washington in the fight against terrorism.
The man who walked on stage in Manchester looked far different from the fresh-faced 41-year- old who took over the party in 1994.
His hair is shot with gray, and the lines on his face are more pronounced – reflecting a turbulent 12 years that have seen British troops sent into battle in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suicide terrorist attacks on British soil.
“Yes, it’s hard sometimes to be America’s strongest ally,” he said. “At the moment, I know people only see the price of these alliances. Give them up and the cost in terms of power, weight and influence for Britain would be infinitely greater. Distance this country, and you may find it’s a long way back.”
This speech – his last to the Labor Party faithful as leader – was a chance for the prime minister to secure his legacy, to remind his detractors of his accomplishments and to urge his party to stay on course when he leaves office sometime in the next year.
As leader, Blair forced the traditionally left-leaning party into the center and reached out to moderate, middle-class voters.
His emphasis on such issues as health care, fiscal discipline and crime appealed to millions, and when Britain next voted in 1997, Labor swept into government for the first time in 18 years.
He was re-elected in 2001 in another landslide, but this was the term during which foreign policy overtook the domestic agenda, and Blair faced severe opposition when Britain joined the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. But Blair defended his decision to send troops into the global fray.
“We used to feel we could shut our front doors on the problems and conflicts of the wider world. Not anymore,” Blair, 53, said. “The British people today are reluctant global citizens. We have to make them confident ones.”
