Blair Says He Will Leave

[Christina]

Blair Says He Will Leave Office in June By ALAN COWELLLONDON, May 10 — After months of coy hints and fevered speculation, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced today that he would leave office on June 27 after a decade in power in which he sacrificed his popularity to the war in Iraq and struggled at home to improve schools, policing and hospitals. With stirring oratory cast as a personal testament and blending self-congratulation with a dash of humility, he declared: “I ask you to accept one thing. Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. I may have been wrong. That’s your call. But believe one thing: I did what I thought was right for our country.”He spoke in pensive and sometimes emotional tones, acknowledging that his narrative had not all been woven of successes — even offering an unusual apology for his failings. “This is the greatest nation on earth,” he said. “It has been an honor to serve it. I give my thanks to you, the British people, for the times I have succeeded, and my apologies to you for the times I have fallen short.” The announcement, in Mr. Blair’s home district of Sedgefield in northeastern England, was part of a closely-choreographed and protracted farewell that is not quite over yet. Between now and his final departure, Mr. Blair plans to attend major European Union and international summits in June.The prime minister’s aides have sought to detail Mr. Blair’s agenda between now and his resignation to counter taunts from the opposition Conservatives that he is leading a lame duck administration. According to British media reports, he has also scheduled trips to France, Africa and the United States and will seek to press laws through parliament before handing over to a successor — almost certainly Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.