Blair hints of stress being PM

[polycarp]

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article08

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair has spoken out about the stress of being the country's premier in a "day in the life" documentary.

Put together by his aides and aired on his web-site, the video claims to provide the public with "a rare glimpse" into Blair's life.

In it, he said nothing prepared him for the stress and hard work of the job or being under such constant scrutiny.

He added that he works such long hours that he is probably breaking "some directive or other".

"There is never a typical day, all days are different. There are many number of different issues that can come up in a day and then you can always have something completely unexpected that translates one type of day into a completely different one.

"The important thing is to be able to compartmentalise, to be able to switch from one subject into another."

He said even being leader of the opposition could not prepare a politician for the difficulty of doing the prime minister's job.

"It's completely a different order of stress, challenge, pressure," he said.

However, Blair admitted he did receive some helpful guidance from a previous prime minister.

"I remember Mrs Thatcher once saying to me that the most important thing about prime minister's questions is that it gave you the opportunity to know exactly what was going on in all the different nooks and crannies of government," he said.

The three-and-a-half minute video is one of a series of films that can be viewed on the prime minister's web-site and follows a new trend of informal behind-the-scenes documentaries about political leaders.

For Christmas the White House released a film about George Bush seen from the point of view of the presidential Scottish Terriers, Miss Beazley and Barney.

The 10-minute video was available on the White House web-site.

In a separate development, a report said British recruits are failing the tough physical tests required to join France's Foreign Legion.

According to figures published in the Daily Mail yesterday, there are currently just dozens of British Legionnaires compared to several hundreds in the 1930s.

"There has been a sharp decline in the number of British getting through basic training," the Legion spokesman said.

"While British men may be impressed by the romance of the legion, their physical condition leaves much to be desired and they are seldom mentally strong."

The Daily Mail reported that the Legion, created in the 19th century to support a French war in Algeria, now found its foreign recruits mainly in the former Soviet bloc.

[gmc]

posted by scrat

Sure ol Tony is not stressed by a guilty conscience?


Don't be silly, he's a politician and doesn't have a conscience.:sneaky:

[Uncle Kram]

Stress?...considering that Tony is in his early 70's I think he looks quite well for his age

[orpheus]

Could it possible that it is the stress of having his lips pressed firmly against GW/The last ones bottom for all these years?

[Bothwell]

Stress my arse ( Shakespeare I think). Be out of work raising 3 or 4 kids with no partner around to help etc etc that is stress. This country (UK) still has between 500,000 and 1 million (depends whose figure you read) children officially "Poor" of these at least 40% are "Crhonically disadvantaged" that is politico speak for below poor. There are cahrities in this country that supply shoes yes shoes to poor children.

So Blair I hope you sre stressed there are children suffereing hardship in 2007 in a suppopsedly first world economy, you are the leader of this country and I would expect that job to carry a certain amount of stress.