International   

Influencing Blair? Never, says Cherie

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, SEPT. 11. How much influence does Cherie Blair, wife of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have on her husband?

Well, not a lot, judging from what she said in an interview on Saturday. Not that she does not try but, in the end, he does pretty much what he wants to do. "Even after 25 years, I am not sure I can make him do anything that he does not want to do. Well, he did give up smoking,'' she said.

Mrs. Blair, a successful barrister in her own right with fiercely independent political views and apparently far more on the Left than her husband, denied suggestions that she did not agree with him on Iraq.

Asked about her views on the Iraq war, she said: "One thing I was absolutely certain of through all that was that my role is to give him 100 per cent support. If you love someone and you believe in them then that is what you do.''

Pressed whether she agreed with him, Mrs. Blair said: "Well, as it happens I do agree with him. But that is not really the point, is it? The point is that it is his job to make those decisions and not mine. I am not saying we do not talk about things, because we do, but in the end it is his decision.''

Mrs. Blair was interviewed by The Telegraph to mark her 50th birthday and the publication of her book on former British Prime Ministers' spouses, The Goldfish Bowl, in which they recall their experiences of living at No 10. She firmly sidestepped questions about her family's private life, and said it was not for her to comment on her husband's political future. "I shall always be there to support him. I certainly will,'' she declared.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• Opposition stir to oust Khaleda Government from today
• First soldier to stand trial for prison abuse
• Influencing Blair? Never, says Cherie
• Bush attends prayer service
• Long road to recovery for Beslan survivors
• Militants tighten control of Fallujah
• Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza
• North Korea may boycott talks
• World Bank official flees threat
• Clinton discharged from hospital
• `Engagement between India, U.S. deepening'
• `India willing to help check spread of AIDS'
• Kalam lauds Tanzania's economic progress
• Chautala longs for `Anarkali ka lassi'

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu