Tony Blair urged his Labour Party to stick to his centrist economic and social agenda in his 10th and final message as PM.
LONDON: Tony Blair urged his governing Labour Party to stick to his centrist economic and social agenda in what is set to be his 10th and final New Year's message as Britain's prime minister.
With finance minister Gordon Brown expected to succeed Blair by September, the message was likely to be seen as a warning for him not to veer from the course set since Labour won its first of three election victories in 1997.
Blair urged the former leftist party to rely on its newfound centrist instincts of "ambition and compassion" to meet the challenges of the next decade, which includes general elections some time before 2010.
"This is the most difficult time for any government," Blair said in a message released by his office while he holidays in the United States. "Nine years into power, mid-term in a third term. Labour has never been in this position before.”
"But the Labour Party should take heart. It is dominating the battle of ideas. It will continue to do so provided it continues to be New Labour."
"Ten years ago, few people talked about the need to secure long-term energy supplies, the challenge and opportunities thrown up by the growth of the Chinese and Indian economies or advances in genetics.
"Already we can see the shape of things to come. We need to make our economy even more dynamic and competitive — taking advantage of the new areas of bio-science and environmental technology, as well as deepening our strong financial services and creative industrial base."
Blair also said that his country must carry through its commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007 while he continues a personal quest to revive the peace process in the Middle East.
Most of Blair's New Year's message — likely his last as prime minister — however, was about domestic politics, clearly looking beyond his departure and urging his Labour Party to persist with his "New Labour" agenda. Blair has said he will leave office by September, but has not been more specific. "The threat of global terrorism menaces us as it does other nations," he said.
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