A new documentary series on Tony Blair has been criticised for lacking rigorous analysis of his political career. The three-part biography, titled The Tony Blair Story, focuses heavily on the former prime minister's personality and psychology, according to a review.
The programme, directed by Michael Waldman, features interviews with Blair, his wife Cherie, and several of their children, alongside archive footage and conversations with colleagues. The first episode, subtitled 'Who Are You?', explores Blair's childhood at Fettes College, his father's stroke, a friend's suicide during his Oxford years, and his early political ambitions.
While the review acknowledges the appeal of a psychological narrative, it argues that the series neglects broader political context. It notes that key factors such as the role of Labour modernisers, including Peter Mandelson, and Blair's 1995 meeting with Rupert Murdoch are mentioned only briefly. The review states that the programme assumes Blair changed Britain for the better without discussing the interests served by his social and economic policies.
The series is building towards a second episode focusing on the 2003 Iraq invasion, which the review suggests will portray Blair as developing a 'messiah complex'. However, it warns that the psychoanalytic approach blurs the distinction between Blair's belief in deposing Saddam Hussein as a moral imperative and his reliance on factual justifications.
