Tony Blair statue unveiled in country where streets are named after him

Londoner’s Diary

Smiling schoolchildren and adoring crowds chant his name. The government names streets after him and unveils statues of him. Oh, how beloved Sir Tony Blair is… in Kosovo.

Yesterday, to mark 25 years since invading forces withdrew from the country after British intervention, the former UK PM addressed the Kosovo parliament.

Then on to the town of Ferizaj where he gleefully witnessed the unveiling of this statue in the town centre.

Sir Tony is so beloved for his role in Kosovo’s liberation that children there are given the name “Tonibler” in his honour. If only he had that kind of reputation back home in Britain, where he is now one of our most divisive public figures.

The statue, created by Kosovan sculptor Agon Qosa, will stand on Blair Boulevard in Ferizaj.

Blair is still adored by many ethnic Albanians in Kosovo because of his role leading a NATO bombing campaign of Serbian forces in 1999 that halted Serb forces, ending the Kosovan war and resulting in the small nation’s independence.

In Pristina, Kosovo’s capital city, Sir Tony met President Vjosa Osmani address MPs in a special session of parliament.

“This day, June 10, 25 years ago, agreement was reached for a complete and non-conditional withdraw from the territory of Kosovo of the forces of invasion,” he said. “Kosovo was finally free, its people able to live again, to hope again, to believe again in a future free of oppression and injustice,” Sir Tony told MPs.

Sir Tony is currently writing a book on political leadership, due out in September.