GREENSBORO — Tony Blair is no longer directly involved in politics but he still keeps a close watch on global affairs.
Blair made an appearance in Greensboro, N.C., to kick off the Bryan Series, an annual collection of lectures hosted by Guilford College. During an hour long speech and wide-ranging question-and-answer session, the former British prime minister, discussed his views on U.S. and global fiscal policy, economics and an assessment of Western supremacy in a changing world.
Blair, who led Great Britain from 1997 to 2007, managed to artfully dodge the evening's toughest audience questions: What would you do if you were the president? Would you vote to re-elect President Obama?
But the former politician did provide some insight into how he would tackle several of the world's biggest economic challenges. Overwhelmingly, he urged decision makers, both in the United States and abroad, to find middle ground and remove politics from the discussion whenever possible.
Job growth is vital to recovery and will rely on the U.S. having a "credible" deficit reduction plan, working with businesses and "sensible regulation" of the financial sector. Blair,
"I support the work by center ground Democrats and Republicans" to
Blair also discussed the importance of salvaging the Euro, despite his country's nonparticipation in the currency. "It is in our interest that the currency holds together" given the rise of economic clout in countries such as China and India, he said. (For instance, Blair noted that China's population growth in 2010 was equal to the entire population of his country.)
Europe needs "fiscal alignment" and "reform in its social model," he added. "Europe needs to come together and exert its power," Blair said. "When the single currency was created, there was too much emphasis on the politics and not enough on the economics."
Much of Blair's time is now spent on a foundation he created to counter religious extremism and ongoing efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Blair attempted to lift the crowd's spirits, repeatedly striking a tone that the current malaise represents a temporary setback. "We are not in decline. We are suffering a temporary absence of self-belief and self-confidence," he said. "The solution is not to lose heart, but to gain it. To rediscover what we believe in and why we believe in it and how that belief should resurrect our confidence in the future."
