PM to pursue policy agenda with “verve and vigour”
Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday downplayed the severity of his heart scare last Sunday.
It was reported last wekend that Mr Blair was hit with supra ventricular tachycardia – a condition where the sufferer feels unwell, with serious heart irregularities and shortness of breath.
At his monthly televised news conference in Downing Street, the 50-year old PM said his five-hour long electro-cardiac treatment for an irregular heartbeat had gone well.
He subsequently brushed off suggestions that his heart condition would prompt a change of leadership in the not-too-distant future.
“I know I had the little medical scare at the weekend but my defences aren’t down that much,” he said.
Mr Blair said he planned to publish a prospectus on “the future challenges facing our country.”
Commenting on Labour’s bid to turn its attention to domestic issues, following the highly publicised war in Iraq, the PM said: “It’s a very busy policy agenda. It’s one we intend to get on with verve and vigour.”
Mr Blair rejected suggestions that he ought to emulate his US counterpart George W Bush in taking part in televised annual health check-ups.
