Blair and the British: Ready for a Change

Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced that he will step down on June 27, but he will not be leaving on a high note. Only 28 percent of British adults said they are satisfied with his job performance, according to the most recent Ipsos-MORI survey, and more than half in a survey conducted for The Guardian said that it is "time for a change."

And why are they ready for change? After 10 years under Blair, his fellow Britons are more likely to see him as "too concerned with public relations and spin" or "arrogant" than as "trustworthy" or "in touch with ordinary people."

Perhaps most important, just one in five think Blair "is right about Iraq." Right from the start of the war, the British people disapproved of Blair's support for the war and President Bush. As a result, Blair's satisfaction ratings in Ipsos-MORI polls declined precipitously as the Iraq war began in 2003, and like President Bush's job approval ratings, are now mired well below pre-war levels.

But when Blair arrives in the U.S. for a final visit as prime minister this week, he will encounter a more welcoming audience in the American public than he has at home. In the latest CNN/Opinion Research survey, seven in 10 said they have a favorable opinion of the PM from across the pond, nearly double President Bush's current favorability ratings.