On air: Have we learnt anything new about Tony Blair?
| 15:00 UK time, Wednesday, 1 September 2010
"He was difficult, at times maddening? Yes. But he was also strong, capable and brilliant, and those were qualities for which I never lost respect. "
In a 91Èȱ¬ interview he says:
"The relationship with Gordon Brown was very very difficult but also very close. Towards the end it was frankly hard, going on impossible but that for large parts of the time we were in government, he was an immense source of strength.
But this book goes beyond the relationship between these two men, it talks about September 11th, the Iraq war, the death of Diana Princess of Wales, peace in Northern Ireland and even his use of alcohol as a crutch when things got tough. Here are some of the key quotes from his political memoirs.
The picked up that Mr Blair admits Alcohol became a prop to cope with Gordon Brown.
gabrielmilland tweets ‎: Why didn't Blair expose Brown as the dysfunctional monomaniac he knew he was. Why no offensive strategy? Why let him win in the end?
In the extracts you've read, what has it taught you about Tony Blair, the man and the politician? The 91Èȱ¬'s Political Editor Nick Robinson says in his blog
"I would like to apologise for my reporting of the relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in the years they were together in government......I now accept that I made mistakes. Things were worse - much worse - than I reflected at the time."
Some commentators have been surprised by his humour. Others like his biographer John Rentoul, asks where does all the
Has what you've read changed any of your views about Tony Blair?
