TONY Blair has finally announced his long-awaited departure amid much talk of a political legacy and everyone keen to point out areas where he has 'failed'.
I feel it is right for me to talk about Blair at this time and say that I think he has done a good job.
It is the nature of politics for leaders to become less popular and I believe those who make no decisions keep no one happy. Those who make decisions, as Tony Blair has done, are bound to disappoint some.
Overall, he has done an excellent job and in 20 or 25 years, possibly less, we will appreciate him more.
His only real black mark is Iraq, but it is a fallacy to think that Tony Blair took us into Iraq on his own. There were hundreds of political and civil service advisors urging him to do just that, eagerly pointing out the pitfalls of failing to act. Many faceless people were in favour of the war, as were many politicians who have since changed their minds to bend to the popular vote.
I supported the decision in 2003 for two reasons: weapons of mass destruction and regimen change. I still stand by that decision, which is not to say that the outcome so far has not been a fiasco, but I have not changed my mind about it being the right decision then.
I exonerate Blair from all blame and will stand by him, even if others won't, because it is the right thing to do.
What would have happened if we had left Saddam Hussein in power and he had taken direct action against Israel? What would the Arab world have done then? Whatever the answer, you can bet Blair would be blamed for doing nothing to stop it.
On other issues such as the NHS, education and law and order, there is still a debate to be had. Overall things have improved, although the law and order agenda leaves a lot to be desired.
I like to look at a person's life as a wall built of many bricks, some of which are not as strong or well laid as we would like. We all make mistakes, adding weak bricks to our walls, some of which are bigger than others. If you have no weak bricks in your wall then you have made no decisions, never stood up and been counted.
Tony Blair wanted to be Prime Minister, put himself in that position and has lived with the consequences of the decisions he has made.
I had a private meeting with him once and I walked away admiring him more for his humility. I felt sad for him because who would want to be the Prime Minister, living in that spotlight and under that amount of pressure?
I can walk the streets and talk to ordinary people; he can't go anywhere without being surrounded by men with machine guns and being ushered in and out of a bullet-proof car.
Blair probably had no idea what he was getting into when he became the Prime Minister, least of all that he would have the ride of his life.
Those who have a crack at him should ask themselves whether they could have done any better, bearing in mind that only a minute minority could have stepped forward for the job.
Who would want to be Prime Minister? Not me, for sure.
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