Tony Blair's stark declaration that he made mistakes in Iraq came as another blow to his already waning popularity That declaration, together with the scandals that hit his party in the last few weeks, left him in an unenviable situation. Members of the opposition as well as members from his party are waiting for him to set a date for his resignation. Tony Blair made the frank declaration, the first of its kind, in a press conference with US President George Bush during his visit to Washington late last week. He also acknowledged his errors during his talks with new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in Baghdad during his visit to Iraq last week. He admitted that the exclusion of all of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party members from leading roles in the post-Saddam governments may have only fueled the insurgency. However, he is still convinced that he was not mistaken in his decision to invade Iraq in 2003, an invasion which he sees as having been a necessary step for the rebirth of a full-fledging democracy in the country. He also called on the international community to give its full support to the new Iraqi government. "Whatever people's misgivings about the 2003 invasion of Iraq, our duty, but also the duty of the whole international community, is to get behind this government and support it," he said after his visit to Baghdad. However, he declined to set a timetable for the withdrawal of his troops from Iraq, claiming that the challenge is still immense and the situation in Iraq still needs the presence of foreign troops. By admitting that he made mistakes, Blair was keen to cast light on his achievements in Iraq in an attempt to ensure a positive legacy as his time in office draws to a close. Blair's acknowledgment of his mistakes in Iraq came after several scandals hit his party, causing not only the public but also many party members to lose their faith in Blair and his administration. This feeling of disappointment was reflected in the results of April local elections. In the election, Labour lost more than 300 seats of the 4,361 available, making it the party's worst loss since it took power in 1997. Meanwhile, the Conservatives, the main opposition party, achieved their best results since 1992 by gaining more than 300 seats. If these local elections had been a general election, the Labour would have come third after the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, the second biggest opposition party. After the election, Blair tried to reassert his grip on power by a reshuffle in which he changed the home and foreign secretaries and brought his supporters to more influential positions. But the reshuffle only increased public anger and calls for him to resign as soon as possible. The elections followed a difficult period for the government, which has admitted earlier that it allowed more than 1,000 foreign criminals to be released at the end of their sentences without considering deportation. The offenders, who were released between February 1999 and March this year, included pedophiles, sex offenders, rapists and murderers. Murderers are supposedly released from prison under license and are meant to be under the supervision of the Probation Service. Rapists should be on the sex offenders register. But the home secretary at the time, Charles Clarke, revealed that he did not know where most of the foreign offenders were. Blair further aroused his MPs and party members' anger when he refused to sack or punish his deputy, John Prescott, for having sex with his secretary during office hours. Prescott's secretary claimed she had regular encounters with him in his office. He has admitted the affair. In the government reshuffle, Blair stripped Prescott of his department but kept his salary and perks, sparking more anger from his party and opposition parties. In addition, Blair's government was repeatedly accused of failure to work out a full lasting solution to the education and NHS problems in England. In spite of all these problems, Blair shows clear signs that he plans to remain in power for as long as possible. He refused to bow to pressure to resign or to offer a clear timetable for his departure, claiming that this would paralyse his government. He is still gambling on the reluctance of his party members to weaken their party by engaging in open warfare against him. He is also using to his advantage the fact that any open conflict within the party may cause it to lose its central position in government and slide into opposition. Political analysts compare Blair's current situation to that of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was ousted by her MPs in 1990 mid-way through her third term in office and six months after bad local election results. Will Blair face the same fate? Only time can tell.
