World leaders congratulate Blair on re-election

Tony Blair’s European colleagues mixed hearty election victory congratulations with birthday greetings today as the British Prime Minister celebrated winning an historic third term, while Asian and South Pacific leaders lauded him for overcoming opposition to the war in Iraq.

“Dear Tony,” wrote French President Jacques Chirac, who led European opposition to the Iraq war but omitted the topic from a letter of congratulations. Chirac said he was “delighted” to continue working with Blair on critical tasks like European Union integration.