Stephen Marth, Editor in Chief

Even after his resignation, Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of England, is fighting for the common man in a variety of ways. Editor in Chief Stephen Marth had the opportunity to sit down with Blair in an exclusive interview Wednesday night before he spoke to the UB community to learn more about England’s “Barack Obama.”

 

The Spectrum: First off, welcome to UB. Do you plan on trying some of Buffalo’s famous chicken wings before you head back home?

 

Tony Blair: (Laughter) That’s all anyone has talked to me about that are outside of Buffalo when I told them that I was coming here. I don’t think I’ll have time to try any before I go. We’ll have to stop by the airport.

 

S: Well there’s an Anchor Bar, home of the chicken wing, located in the airport now, so maybe you could stop there?

 

TB: Is that right? That’s great. But what’s the specialty about them? The spice?

 

S: Well yes, there are a variety of flavors. You have your general mild, medium and hot sauce flavors, and then you have your off-of-the-wall flavors like peanut butter and jelly. I’ve never tried those though. I wouldn’t suggest them to you.

 

TB: (After finding out from his press secretary that they are picking up chicken wings) That’s great. We’ll see how they are.

 

S: Going into more serious matters now, what was your biggest success as prime minister?

 

TB: It’s tough to say. Biggest success, biggest regret, it’s hard for us to judge, really. The biggest thing for me was to try to put forward a vision of Britain as a modern country, proud of its past . . . we were able to change our public services and the process when we won the Olympics. We also had a great deal of foreign policy that we implemented. I like to think of these as all key things of a country that was changing for the better.

 

S: Do you have any regrets since leaving office?

 

TB: I think that there are always things that you would have done differently, but I think probably my biggest regret looking back is at my first term. If I had more experience, if I knew what I knew when I finished at the beginning, I would have probably gone faster and further in the major health care, schools, university, law and order reports that we did.

 

S: As a child growing up, did you ever expect to become the prime minister of Great Britain?

 

TB: Absolutely not.

 

S: What did you want to be when you grew up?

 

TB: I went through the usual things. I wanted to be a fireman and a footballer and a rock star, then finally a lawyer. I ended up taking a turn and went into politics.

 

S: After President Barack Obama was elected, many people were comparing his election to that of yours. Do you see any comparison between you two? How do you think he has done so far in office?

 

TB: Well, there are similarities in the sense that there is a huge weight of expectation. The trouble is that when you get into government, you realize how tough it is to do things. But I think he’s doing great and people have to give him a chance. He just started. He’s been there a few months and people think it’s been a few years.

 

S: What are your thoughts on the current expense scandal plaguing Parliament and the Prime Minister in England?

 

TB: I mean, I think that the government is doing what they need to do to deal with the issue. I think it’s important for people to remember that the vast majority of those in Parliament are working hard and are trying to do a good job for their constituents. That’s all I have to say about that.

 

S: Since leaving office, you’ve created the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and the Tony Blair Sports Foundation. What other work do you wish to accomplish in the next few years to better this world?

 

TB: I’ve spent about two-thirds or a little more of my time on my philanthropic and charitable work. I’m obviously the [Quartet on the Middle East] representative and I’ve spent some time there. I do my Faith Foundation, which is about 30 people of different faiths together, and we’ve got a program targeted to young people that is very exciting in schools around the world and in some universities, too. The third thing is that I’ve got a project on climate change, which I’m doing with an international business group and the fourth thing is I’m helping with support for governments in Africa, because Africa is a great passion of mine. And obviously, I do the Sports Foundation, which is based … where my constituency was when I was in Parliament. Really, what I’m trying to do is engage in things where I felt that there was unfinished business left when I was in office.

 

S: Many have rumored that you are eying the possible “permanent” position of the President of the European Council, if it is created. Is there any truth to that?

 

TB: The truth is, it’s a lot of chatter. When the job exists, I can talk about. It doesn’t actually exist yet, so once all of the countries ratify for it, we can talk about it.

 

S: The United States is currently looking at its stance on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. How do you think it is doing currently? Do you see a pullout anytime soon? What would you like to see happen concerning the current turmoil in the Middle East?

 

TB: I mean, it’s obviously up to America to decide their own policy, but my view is very strong that there is a big battle going on in the world, frankly. There’s a virus of extremism that has gone into the culture and the civilization of Islam. It’s there. There’s no point in denying it. We have to be prepared to stand up for ourselves. And also, for the people, the vast majority who are Muslim who are victims of terrorism, I think that the world has to stay united behind this. I took that view after 9/11 even though it was very difficult obviously with Iraq and so on, and I still think it’s the right thing to do.

 

S: You must have a great deal of free time now that you are out of office. Have you taken advantage of this? What do you do in your spare time?

 

TB: (Laughter) There’s the premise of that question that is not quite correct. Unfortunately, I think I am as busy if not busier than I was before. I’ve been on a three-week tour now so I’m looking forward to going back home to be with my family. I still have a lot of interests in sports, music and hanging out with my children and my wife.

 

E-mail: stephen.marth@ubspectrum.com