By IANS,
New Delhi : Cherie Blair has admitted that being the wife of Tony Blair “coloured” her views about Gordon Brown who succeeded her husband as prime minister of Britain last year.
Cherie, a high-profile lawyer, has written a book, “Speaking For Myself”, about her life. The book, in which Brown also finds mention, created much controversy in Britain and has also found its way into the bestseller’s list in the country and elsewhere.
“He (Gordon) is in the book because of the impact he had on my husband and as Tony says its not an unignorable ambition to become PM, but obviously when you are already PM and there is friction and pressure about when you will step down, but as Tony’s wife and the question of who was going to be leader of the party clearly coloured my view of Gordon,” Cherie said in an interview with NDTV news channel.
She said: “In 1994, Tony was always the frontrunner. He was the person from the beginning; he was ahead in the polls to be leader of the party. It was a difficult battle for both him and Gordon.”
Tony Blair had to step down from the prime minister’s post in the middle of his term in favour of Brown in May 2007.
The Cherie Blair interview will be telecast on NDTV later this week, but excerpts of it were issued in a press statement by the channel Monday.
She also had a lot of praise for Hillary Clinton, who she considers to be a role model.
“Up until now every time we talk of an American president we’ve seen a man, and what Hillary has absolutely proved is that a woman can do that job, that she has the persistence, the determination, the character to do that job.”
Cherie was of the opinion that though Hillary is now out of the US presidential race, her contribution would be acknowledged by whoever becomes the first woman president of the US in future.
“I know that one day we will see a woman being sworn in as president, and I am sure that she will say the day she is sworn in that I am here today because of Hillary Clinton and the campaign she fought in 2008.”
The wife of the former British prime minister also admitted that she had no idea on how to deal with the media when she first stepped into 10, Downing Street, the official residence of the British prime minister.
“I was naïve and did not think that when Tony became PM the children and my lives would change. On the very first day, I came down in my nightwear to open the door to collect flowers, and saw flashing light bulbs, I shut the door, and thought Tony will kill me … And those photos were shown around the world,” Cherie said.