Blair's legacy: Global opinion

BBC News website readers around the world describe how they will remember Tony Blair's ten years as British prime minister.

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MICHEL NORMAN, 46, ACCOUNTANT, RA'ANANA, ISRAEL

Tony Blair was seen here in Israel as a friend, as someone who tried to help. He was humane.

If he's free now, we could do with him over here! If people are complaining about Tony Blair, try living with Ehud Olmert.

I think he tried to act as an honest broker in the Middle East, but when the other party isn't interested in a solution, nothing can happen.

His one big problem was Iraq; I don't think it was thought through properly.

I think morally he did the right thing in getting rid of Saddam Hussein and also helping the US. The fact it's a mess is not his fault, it's the Iranians' fault.

If Tony Blair had said to Britain: "The US saved us twice, we are their closest allies, they need our help", I think that would have been the right approach. But he tried to argue the case on weapons of mass destruction.

I see his successor, Gordon Brown as very grey. I think this pension thing has sunk him politically and I can't see him winning the next election.

TAREK BARAKAT, 28, MARKETING MANAGER, SYRIAN IN DUBAI

I think he'll be remembered as potentially one of the greatest British Prime Ministers, eternally damaged by his Iraq war blunder.

He was one of the best public speakers I've seen and I think he improved Britain's standing in Europe.

But in the Middle East he made a difference in the wrong areas and lacked the will or strength to create change when it was needed.

Invading Iraq was and continues to be a disaster. On the other hand, the Arab/Israeli arena was in dire need of attention. As America's best friend his government had the luxury to influence its stronger sister but he chose not to.

Blair should have known when to play tough love with the US government. Instead he became a follower not a leader.

As for his successor: Gordon Brown's strong views on the environment and poverty in Africa are a very positive thing.

But from a Middle Eastern perspective he will be just as irrelevant. If you want my opinion on Gordon Brown's foreign policy then just look across the Atlantic. It all depends on which US administration is in office.

ANWAR JALALZAI, 23, MEDIA MANAGER, KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

The majority of people in Afghanistan don't like Tony Blair. I don't think that's personal though.

There is animosity towards British troops here as they have committed some serious blunders. They have killed innocent civilians, which undermines people's trust in foreign forces.

The civilian population, particularly the Pashtuns, believe Taleban propaganda that there is a vendetta against them.

On the other hand, Tony Blair was a major supporter of the elimination of narcotics in Afghanistan.

With British help, poppies were completely eradicated in some parts of the country. The fact that production has resumed in these areas is a different matter.

It's because people didn't have the chance to make a living in a different way; so the success was reversed.

I think one of Tony Blair's biggest achievements is peace in Northern Ireland.

But of course, his biggest failure was Iraq, and this is probably what a lot of people will remember him for.

JOACHIM KORTE-BERNARD, 49, DEVELOPER, WOLFENBUETTEL, GERMANY

Tony Blair only caught our attention for the first time when Britain and the US invaded Iraq.

As demonstrations continued here throughout the war, no one believed his explanation that the war was all about democracy, but rather that it was over oil and imperialism.

The message from Germany to Tony Blair from here on was: "You are George W Bush's poodle".

Whatever Blair achieved domestically in the UK during his reign was totally overshadowed by Iraq.

The second time he made headlines here was over EU reform, particularly the Common Agricultural Policy. Although he tried to push European spending in a new direction, he could not gather much support in this part of Europe.

The European people did not care much for his proposals and the politicians had to protect the interests of their electorate.

Future generations may appreciate what he did for the UK and Europe but in the short term the 'poodle' label will remain.

As for Blair's supposed successor, all we know about Gordon Brown is that he's Scottish and he's Blair's top political rival.

It is also widely thought that Brown is less in favour of European integration, although we know that he managed the British economy pretty skilfully as Chancellor.

However, we don't expect any big changes from him.

OLE RYDAHL SVENSSON, 21, STUDENT, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

Tony Blair was often criticised for being George W Bush's lapdog, but that is not a fair assessment.

He certainly was not a junior partner in the war on terror. He was a man to be reckoned with, a man who convinced the Bush administration to go to the UN before the Iraq invasion, and to try to get international support.

Of course Blair's legacy will be overshadowed by the horrible outcome of the Iraq war, but we must not forget that the motive behind the decision to go to war was strategically and morally sound.

Blair's latter years in office have been mired by mistakes and bad decisions, but he remains the man that transformed Labour, brokered a peace deal in Northern Ireland and gave Britain back its sense of self-worth.

He was tremendously popular in Denmark until the war; since then, people feel he has lost his clout and sense of decency.

Nonetheless, he has had a huge impact on Danish politics. The current prime minister of Denmark copied his entire election campaign from 1997 and the new leader of the Danish Labour Party is obviously trying to win votes by contract politics and focus group-approved policy changes.

As for Gordon Brown, I am quite sceptical about his chances against David Cameron.

I doubt he'll be able to distance himself enough from Blair. But there's an irony there, because Cameron is simply Blair mark II.

WANG LI, 48, UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, CHINA

Tony Blair is one of the most popular foreign leaders in China, probably next to Russia's President Putin.

In his first visit to China he spoke to the public with a confident smile, which deeply impressed the young Chinese.

That he was determined to establish peace in the troubled Northern Ireland and that he spoke highly of the economic successes in China indicated his courage in pushing reform in both domestic and foreign policy.

The Chinese intellectuals respect Mr Blair much more than Mr Bush or the former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi.

Of course, there are some negative things about his foreign policy. He did not exert his full influence to lift the EU military ban against China which was adopted in 1989.

He was a supporter of President Bush's foreign policy in Iraq and despite his promises, he failed to improve relations between the EU and Russia.

But his failures have been more to do with domestic politics than his personality. Perhaps he was born in the wrong era which limited his capacity to play a more positive role. Nevertheless, he is regarded as a respected and mature statesman.

Tony Blair appeals so much to the young people in China because they wish their leaders could be more like him - closer to the ordinary people, with humour and warmth.

His image in China has been undoubtedly promoted by the recent movie of The Queen, in which he appeared sympathetic, brave and smart.

KENNETH ALANEME, 31, UNIVERSITY LECTURER, NIGERIA

Mr Blair's foreign policies have helped Britain stay relevant in world politics.

In Africa, Blair has improved aid and adopted a more liberal policy which helped qualified Africans in Britain realise their dreams with fewer difficulties.

However, more could have been done to encourage good leadership in Africa; this is the greatest problem facing the continent.

The incoming prime minister should create policies to deter bad leaders from impoverishing the masses.

I would say Blair's key successes are economic growth, provision of more jobs, friendly economic aid to African nations, increased assimilation of Africans into British society and advocating human rights in Africa.

However, Mr Blair's collaboration with the US over its invasion of Iraq remains for me the dark spot on an otherwise successful reign as prime minister. The invasion is no doubt his worst foreign policy decision.

I would expect Gordon Brown to take prompt steps in pulling out of Iraq.

I also hope he will continue to help African people overcome their many problems: health, food, shelter, development and, for me the most important thing, leadership.

M SLATER, ROCKWALL, TEXAS, USA

Tony Blair was a great British prime minister and should be appreciated by the people he represented.

He is a wonderful representation of what a leader should strive to be.

He is a man of great conviction and he did what he thought was right and did not take the easy way out at any stage.

He strengthened the already unbreakable bond between the United States and Great Britain.

I hope historians will reflect kindly on his 10 years as British prime minister and, crucially, remember the difficult period in which he served.

America has had no better friend and ally.

FAYIA KARIMU, AUDITOR, SIERRA LEONE

Tony Blair will be remembered in Sierra Leone as a great hero.

Unlike the United States which only intervenes in wars which are of personal interest to them, the Blair regime has the people of Sierra Leone at heart.

Tony Blair will be remembered for his famous diplomatic tour in May 2005, declaring it the "Year of Africa" and winning support from his G8 colleagues.

A man who was elected on three different occasions cannot be looked upon as a failed leader. A bad leader would not be elected 3 times consecutively in a developed and democratically-minded nation like the UK.

A true leader, he does not care what people say about him as long his actions will benefit mankind. Sierra Leone is a brilliant example. We appreciate him helping to bring our war to an end by contributing British troops to combat global terrorism.

However, Tony should have been more patient convincing the world, especially the Arab nations, that it was necessary to invade Iraq.

Our heart goes out to you Mr Blair, thank you so much for saving our poor nation Sierra Leone. Even though we are poor, you are like a father to our us.

If the whole world sees you as a warmonger, we in Sierra Leone salute you. Bravo!