A new Channel 4 documentary, The Tony Blair Story, explores the former prime minister's alleged messianic tendencies, with contributors describing him as believing he was 'fucking Jesus' and able to 'walk on water'. The three-part series by Michael Waldman offers a mix of nostalgia and critique, revisiting Blair's premiership through interviews and archive footage.
The documentary includes a striking moment where Blair, asked to identify his own weaknesses, replies that he would only give a 'politician's answer', adding: 'You're always a politician.' Other highlights include Jonathan Powell recalling Mo Mowlam's comment that Blair 'succeeded because he thought he was fucking Jesus', and Robert Harris saying that after Kosovo, Blair 'thought he could walk on water'. Jeremy Corbyn accuses Blair of being 'a man in denial' with a 'messianic trench' over Iraq.
Family members feature prominently, with Blair's children Kathryn and Euan speaking about their father, and Cherie Blair showing a 'don't-give-a-monkeys-any-more honesty'. She expresses astonishment at being asked if she felt sorry for Gordon Brown when Blair won the leadership, and reveals she pushed her husband to back a different successor when Brown's turn came.
Bill Clinton, speaking carefully, says Blair 'was in a pickle' over Iraq, while Blair defends his decision to support George W. Bush as pragmatism, arguing Britain is a 'small country with a middle-sized economy' deluded about its global standing. The documentary also touches on Blair's post-premiership wealth, with critics accused of being 'wilfully babyish' about politicians' financial ambitions.
Blair claims that as head of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, he may have 'more power now than he did as prime minister'. The series ends with his involvement in the transitional authority for post-conflict Gaza, alongside Jared Kushner, suggesting his delusions of grandeur may persist.
