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CNN Live At Daybreak
Tony Blair Back Home After Health Scare
Aired October 20, 2003 - 05:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As we told you earlier, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is back home after a health scare on Sunday.
For more on this let's head live to London and Robin Oakley at Number 10 Downing Street -- how is Mr. Blair?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's doing fine, Carol.
His aides are saying that he's in good shape. He's resting today under doctor's orders. But he is going to have a few meetings with ministers. What he's not going to do is to go to the British House of Commons and face parliamentarians making a statement on the European Union summit that he went to on Thursday and Friday. Normally he'd be doing that, but today Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, will step in for him.
Mr. Blair is said to be ready to resume a full schedule of engagements tomorrow, Tuesday, and he will take prime minister's question time on Wednesday. But inevitably this health scare, the regularizing of an irregular heartbeat has led to a lot of speculation in the British media this morning, headlines saying, "Is This the Beginning of the End for Tony Blair?," "How Long Will He Stay On?"
But, of course, his aides are saying he has every intention of carrying on, that he's fully fit. And he himself said in an interview only two or three weeks ago that his appetite from carrying on and going on into a third term of office as British prime minister was undiminished -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, a lot of people have an irregular heartbeat. He's a relatively young man. How much does stress enter into the picture?
OAKLEY: Well, the various medical experts who have been talking about this at great length on the media say that it's not necessarily related to stress. But, of course, this has been the most stressful year since Tony Blair became leader of his party 10 years ago and prime minister six years ago. The Iraq war; the failure to find those weapons of mass destruction; his having to appear before the Hutton inquiry into the death of the weapons scientist, David Kelly; trouble with his own party about his policies on education and health. So there's been a lot of stress building up on Tony Blair.
But as you say, he's a comparatively young man for a prime minister, only 50. He swims. He works out in the gym. He plays football with his young family. He's pretty fit, as prime ministers go, and he hasn't smoked since 1980 and he doesn't drink much, careful with his diet. So many people would think that he's in a pretty good condition to carry on. But there's no doubt there has been a health scare and there is speculation among his M.P.s now about whether he will be quite as keen on doing the job for as long as he originally intended -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll see.
Robin Oakley reporting live from London for us this morning.
You can get more on this topic when you get into your office and log on. Just go to cnn.com/world, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 20, 2003 - 05:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As we told you earlier, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is back home after a health scare on Sunday.
For more on this let's head live to London and Robin Oakley at Number 10 Downing Street -- how is Mr. Blair?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's doing fine, Carol.
His aides are saying that he's in good shape. He's resting today under doctor's orders. But he is going to have a few meetings with ministers. What he's not going to do is to go to the British House of Commons and face parliamentarians making a statement on the European Union summit that he went to on Thursday and Friday. Normally he'd be doing that, but today Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, will step in for him.
Mr. Blair is said to be ready to resume a full schedule of engagements tomorrow, Tuesday, and he will take prime minister's question time on Wednesday. But inevitably this health scare, the regularizing of an irregular heartbeat has led to a lot of speculation in the British media this morning, headlines saying, "Is This the Beginning of the End for Tony Blair?," "How Long Will He Stay On?"
But, of course, his aides are saying he has every intention of carrying on, that he's fully fit. And he himself said in an interview only two or three weeks ago that his appetite from carrying on and going on into a third term of office as British prime minister was undiminished -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, a lot of people have an irregular heartbeat. He's a relatively young man. How much does stress enter into the picture?
OAKLEY: Well, the various medical experts who have been talking about this at great length on the media say that it's not necessarily related to stress. But, of course, this has been the most stressful year since Tony Blair became leader of his party 10 years ago and prime minister six years ago. The Iraq war; the failure to find those weapons of mass destruction; his having to appear before the Hutton inquiry into the death of the weapons scientist, David Kelly; trouble with his own party about his policies on education and health. So there's been a lot of stress building up on Tony Blair.
But as you say, he's a comparatively young man for a prime minister, only 50. He swims. He works out in the gym. He plays football with his young family. He's pretty fit, as prime ministers go, and he hasn't smoked since 1980 and he doesn't drink much, careful with his diet. So many people would think that he's in a pretty good condition to carry on. But there's no doubt there has been a health scare and there is speculation among his M.P.s now about whether he will be quite as keen on doing the job for as long as he originally intended -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll see.
Robin Oakley reporting live from London for us this morning.
You can get more on this topic when you get into your office and log on. Just go to cnn.com/world, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
