Brown capable of leading Labour to election success: Blair

LONDON: Tony Blair, the soon-to-resign British prime minister, said in a Sunday weekly his finance minister Gordon Brown has the ability to lead their Labour Party to another general election victory.

Blair, who has consistently refused to name Brown outright as his chosen successor, praised Brown's handling of the economy as evidence of his ability to help steer their
party to a fourth consecutive term in office after a battering in mid-term elections this week.

Blair is expected to announce his resignation plans in the coming days and will quit within weeks.

He and Brown were close allies, but their relationship cooled, providing a sometimes difficult dynamic at the heart of power in Britain. They publicly insist they get along but
some insiders say not so.

Blair acknowledged that Labour now had a fight on its hands after a decade of dominance under his rule but said the main opposition Conservatives' policies were "not thought through."

"Gordon Brown by contrast is completely thought through," Blair wrote in the News of the World newspaper.

"He has steered our economy from one of boom and bust to one of the best in the world.

"He didn't do it by choosing the easy way. He did it by sound judgment, holding his nerve and putting the long-term interests of Britain first.

"At general election time, that is still the route to victory."