0
May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Tony Blair, in his final weeks as U.K. prime minister, sees his future working to promote peace in the Middle East, dialogue between faiths and the virtues of a well- made cup of tea.
Speaking in Washington to Al-Arabiya television and National Public Radio's ``Morning Edition,'' Blair, 54, mused publicly for the first time on what he will do after he retires on June 27. He left open the option of setting up a ``Blair Foundation'' to push for peace.
``I'm so busy still being the actual prime minister I've not worked out exactly how,'' Blair, who met President George W. Bush yesterday, told NPR. ``All these things are possible. I just don't know at the moment.''
Blair said in the Al-Arabiya interview he wanted to continue working for a settlement in the Middle East, and told NPR that faith relations were ``something I've thought a lot about and I'd like to work on.''
Challenged on whether the quality of tea available in London was declining, he joked that the improvement of the British national drink would be his ``campaign for afterwards.''
The prime minister was asked by Al-Arabiya about whether he could have done more to push for peace in the Middle East.
``I've spent a long time working on this myself, and I want to carry on working on it even after I leave office,'' he replied. ``There are still ways that I can achieve things and do things.''
Blair, who has acknowledged that his political decisions, including over Iraq, are guided by his Christian faith, said that understanding between faiths holds the key to the Middle East.
Faith Dialogue
``This question to do with religious faith and how the faiths come together is an important part of it,'' he told NPR. ``It's important that we try to get a better understanding and dialogue between different faiths.''
Religion has been a source of debate throughout Blair's decade in power.
A spotlight was thrown on the 2 million Muslims living in the U.K. when suicide bombers killed 52 people in London in July 2005, and Blair has said more needs to be done to integrate British Muslims. In Northern Ireland, Blair helped to broker a power-sharing settlement between majority Protestants and minority Roman Catholics that ended three decades of sectarian violence.
At the end of the interview, Blair was challenged by NPR producer Madhulika Sikka, who said it was no longer possible to buy a good cup of tea in London.
``This is a serious allegation,'' said Blair, who often sipped tea from a white mug at news conferences at his Downing Street residence. ``I fear you may be right. This is a British tradition that must not be lost. If I were running for office again I'd make it a major part of any platform.''
Blair then set out his recipe for an ideal cup of tea. ``It's got to be properly strong, it's got to have the right color,'' he said. ``The trouble is, not many people do it like that. That's why I drink coffee when I'm in mainland Europe, because they just can't make a cup of tea.''
