Blair in the Headlines

Tony Blair announced on Thursday that he would step down on June 27, after 10 years as Britain's prime minister.

London's The Independent, called Blair's role in the Iraq war "his tragic epitaph." "Its repercussions will be felt for many years to come," wrote the daily.

The Financial Times commented from the British capital that "Iraq has also done great damage to the doctrine of liberal interventionism Mr Blair eloquently set out in his 1999 speech in Chicago, and honorably defended in Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Afghanistan."

On the European mainland, the prime minister's cooperation with US President Bush in the Iraq war was also a point of contention. The daily Stuttgarter Zeitung in southern Germany described Blair's image as "Bush's faithful poodle."

"Large portions of the public see the man who is now leaving Downing Street merely as a laughing stock or a liar who twisted the facts in order to justify the war," commented the paper. "It's Tony Blair's own fault that the Britons are now relieved that he's resigning, although they owe him a lot."

Strengths on the domestic front

Blair was also praised for the developments he had achieved at home.

"He managed to make Great Britain into a country that can look into the future with confidence," wrote De Volkskrant from The Hague. "Time will tell if this aspect of his term in office -- which also includes his involvement in Africa and in climate policy -- can offset the effects of the war in Iraq."

Paris' Liberation conceded that Blair "is leaving behind a balance sheet full of contrasts," but added that his achievements outweigh what's been done in France.

"There are more billionaires in Britain than before, but also much less poverty," the daily wrote. "It's easy to find a job on the well functioning job market... No British government had ever invested so much in the public sector, especially in education. Tony Blair, the liberal, further developed the market economy while simultaneously strengthening the instruments of solidarity."

Germany's Die Welt listed bringing an end to the conflict in Northern Ireland among Blair's accomplishments. "Tony Blair modernized his own party and spared the economic success that Margaret Thatcher had brought the country through her reforms," the paper said.

A stronger Labour Party

Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin agreed that the prime minister had had a huge influence on his party: "Tony Blair made the Labour Party electable. He brought it into the center of society and established it there. That's an impressive accomplishment."

Though British Finance Minister Gordon Brown was set to move into 10 Downing Street next, Der Tagesspiegel had another candidate in mind.

"Now a party is pushing (Blair) out of office that thinks it'll have better chances in the election with Gordon Brown," wrote the paper. "Labour just might be fooling themselves. Blair's successor may in fact be David Cameron, the conservative opposition leader."