Hasta La Vista Baby

Arnold Schwarzenegger was Tony Blair's last guest as Prime Minister at No10 Downing today. Blair is expected to be appointed to the £100,000-a-year job overseeing peace efforts in the Palestinian territories. The appointment was expected to be announced today, but looks likely to be announced tomorrow instead. Lets all hope that he does not suffer the same fate as his fellow Briton, Alan Johnston of the BBC.

Summing up the Blair years: in the first year or so of Blair's administration, I had the habit of referring to him as "Phony Blair". But over time Blair won me over. He proved to be a principled and decent individual with a firm belief system. He did not fall into the trap of pandering to his party's left wing. Thatchers economic reforms, and alliance with America were kept in tact. As his popularity began to wane he stuck to his principles. I have plenty of minor criticisms but the big picture will clearly show that Tony Blair was a successful Prime Minister; a good, honest man who did his best. Unfortunately, he is being set up for failure with this new "Middle East Special Envoy" position, which in my view will only force him to pander to extremist elements, damaging his image.