Key quotes from Tony Blair memoirs

Published on Wednesday 1 September 2010 11:31

These are some of the key quotes from Tony Blair's memoirs:

On Gordon Brown:

"Was he difficult, at times maddening? Yes. But he was also strong, capable and brilliant, and those were qualities for which I never lost respect."

On the decision to go to war with Iraq:

"I am unable to satisfy the desire even of some of my supporters, who would like me to say: it was a mistake but one made in good faith. Friends opposed to the war think I'm being obstinate; others, less friendly, think I'm delusional. To both I may say: keep an open mind."

On his feelings about those who lost loved ones in the Iraq War:

"Tears, though there have been many, do not encompass it. I feel desperately sorry for them, sorry for the lives cut short, sorry for the families whose bereavement is made worse by the controversy over why their loved ones died, sorry for the utterly unfair selection that the loss should be theirs."

On his feelings ahead of his departure:

"In a curious way, I felt sorry for the party and I more or less remained like that up to the point of departure. By then, I had come to the clear and settled view that unless Gordon spelt out whether he was New Labour or something different - and defined the 'something different' - it was going to be a disaster. I knew it."

On the challenges of the Northern Ireland peace process:

"I remember before the 1997 election a leading Orangeman describing me as unfit to be prime minister because my wife was a painted jezebel who claimed her allegiance to Rome."

On former international development secretary Clare Short:

"I did think she had real leadership talent; the trouble was she thought people who disagreed with her were wicked rather than wrong - a common failing of politicians - and when she turned sour, she could be very bitter indeed."

On former US President George Bush:

"One of the most ludicrous caricatures of George is that he was a dumb idiot who stumbled into the presidency.

"No one stumbles into that job, and the history of American presidential campaigns is littered with the corpses of those who were supposed to be brilliant but who nonetheless failed because brilliance is not enough..."

On former American president Bill Clinton:

"We were political soulmates ... I was also convinced that

his behaviour arose in part from his inordinate interest in and

curiosity about people.

"In respect of men, it was expressed in friendship; in

respect of women, there was potentially a sexual element. And in

that, I doubt he is much different from most of the male

population."

On his relationship with alcohol:

"Stiff whisky or G&T before dinner, couple of glasses of wine or even half a bottle with it. So not excessively excessive. I had a limit. But I was aware that it had become a prop."

On achieving political reform:

"Consensus is great, but in modern politics, where debate unfortunately works through disagreement, it is like the philosopher's stone sought by alchemists: if it sounds too good to be true that you can turn base metal into gold, that's probably because it is."

On his political leanings:

"It is true that my head can sometimes think conservatively especially on economics and security; but my heart always beats progressive, and my soul is and always will be that of a rebel."

On Prime Minister's Questions:

"PMQs was the most nerve-racking, discombobulating, nail-biting, bowel-moving, terror-inspiring, courage-draining experience in my prime ministerial life, without question. You know that scene in Marathon Man where the evil Nazi doctor played by Laurence Olivier drills through Dustin Hoffman's teeth? At around 11.45 on Wednesday mornings, I would have swapped 30 minutes of PMQs for 30 minutes of that."

On the Millennium Dome:

"I think as bad decisions go, it wasn't a frightful one ... It wasn't dreadful. It just wasn't brilliant ... I looked forward to the evening of the turn of a new millennium with all the fervour of a visit to the dentist. Actually, I would have preferred a visit to the dentist. As it turned out it would have been less painful, quieter and certainly less stressful."