Tony Blair hints at return to British politics

Britain’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair hinted that he wanted to make a political comeback in an interview released Friday.

Mr Blair, 63, made the comments to Esquire magazine shortly after announcing he was winding down his controversial but lucrative government advisory business.

He said that it was “an open question” what his future role would be. “I don’t know if there’s a role for me... There’s a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that Yes. Where do I go from here What exactly do I do That’s an open question.”

Though Mr Blair, as leader of the Labour party, won three consecutive general elections from 1997 onwards on a platform of centrist policies, he remains deeply unpopular in Britain for his role in taking Britain into the 2003 Iraq war.

Last year, Mr Blair said he felt “more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know or can believe” after the Chilcot report found the invasion of Iraq was based on flawed evidence and badly executed. Mr Blair acknowledged there had been “a huge reaction” against his brand of politics but said that centrists must fight back.

“I think it’s too soon to say the centre has been defeated. We’ve got to rise to that challenge,” he said.

In September, Mr Blair announced he was winding up Tony Blair Associates, his advisory business, which has worked with countries including Kazakhstan and its autocratic President Nursultan Nazarbayev.