Britain's Tony Blair appealed to voters on Sunday to give him a third chance as prime minister in a strikingly personal speech that sought to heal wounds over Iraq and tackle discontent before an expected May election. Polls put Blair on track to win. But his Labour Party fears apathy, protest votes over the war and lack of trust in the 51-year-old prime minister could slash its huge majority or let the Conservative opposition win by default.
Likening his relationship with Britons to a turbulent marriage, Blair acknowledged tempers had flared but said he had learnt lessons and grown "a little wiser".
"I understand why some people feel angry not just over Iraq, but many of the difficult decisions we have made. And, as ever, a lot of it is about me," he told a Labour Party rally in his most personal message yet of the escalating election campaign.
"It's not a bad idea to think of it in terms of being like any relationship: you the British people and me, the person you chose as your prime minister. Now you ... have to sit down and decide whether you want the relationship to continue."
Blair must name the election date about one month in advance but his deputy John Prescott on Sunday virtually confirmed May 5 as the day - when Britain will also hold local elections.
After 18 years in opposition to the Conservatives, Blair helped transform Labour to appeal to the middle classes, scoring a landslide in 1997 on the back of a public wave of euphoria and huge personal popularity. He won a similar landslide in 2001.
But trust has fallen on Blair's support for US President George W. Bush in Iraq, a war most Britons opposed at the start.
The anti-war Liberal Democrats, Britain's third party, stand to gain most from anger over Iraq. That could split the opposition vote and bolster the Conservatives, analysts say. The Conservatives, who backed the invasion of Iraq, are campaigning heavily on trust and say Blair has deceived voters on Iraq, taxes and improvements to public services like schools and hospitals.
"Most people think Britain is heading in the wrong direction - they feel let down and forgotten by Tony Blair," said Conservative chairman Liam Fox on Sunday.
Giving an impression of deep soul-searching, Blair accepted some voters felt he had neglected domestic issues for foreign diplomacy, had failed to listen and had appeared arrogant.
The government touts the longest period of continuous growth on record - 50 successive quarters - and Britain's low interest rates, inflation and unemployment as proof they are the best stewards of the world's fourth largest economy.
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