y the end of June Tony Blair will have set his departure as head of Britain's Labour Party and thus as prime minister. With his departure will close an era during which the country has been involved in several wars, stayed aloof from Europe, enjoyed some considerable prosperity and aligned itself more with the United States than at any time since World War II. It's fair to say that in this country Prime Minister Blair will be best remembered as the lead ally after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It did not help his standing in Britain.
He has been in the forefront of cementing peace in Northern Ireland. As Alan Cowell put it in the International New York Times, "He has, some argued, achieved the highest political accolade; converting not just his followers but also his opponents to the notion of a caring society". Nicely put. Nowadays, because of his leadership, even Britain's opposition Conservatives now strive to present themselves as a party of compassion. Pragmatically Blair showed that he and his Labourites could run a government and an economy. It has been for nearly a decade that he proved himself to be one of the most successful leaders in Labour history. He is the only Labour leader to win three straight election victories.
Sadly though, for many, there is just one word that will be used to equate with his time in office, "Iraq".
It must have hurt to hear his detractors refer to him as "Bush's poodle". Undoubtedly he became our major ally in the 2003 invasion.
There is much more to the man including the thought that he has narrowed the chasm between the Conservatives and Labour.
On his watch Britain has weathered terrorist attacks and several alleged conspiracies. He has presided over a tightening of laws pertaining to terrorism. He came to the fore and leadership in a blaze of glory - really welcomed by the masses. He leaves at the right time having failed in his attempts to improve the state education system and he's ending under a heavy cloud of allegations that his leadership traded high honors for campaign finance loans.
Despite the failings he is far and away the most successful leader in Labour Party history.