A premier who excites strong emotions

The prospect of Tony Blair winning a third successive general election was greeted with either hope or despair by non-British expatriates living in the UAE.

While some people view the British prime minister as a brave man, others said his foreign policy has caused chaos across the Middle East.

"Tony Blair is good because he saved my people from Saddam Hussain," said Syed Esmail Syed Hassan, a Shiite from Iraq. "If he hadn't done this and if he hadn't supported US President George W. Bush, my people would have been crushed like before."

Blair came to power in 1997 and he is expected to win a third successive term when the elections take place on May 5.

Support for the prime minister, however, has plummeted since the invasion of Iraq because many Britons believe Blair abused their trust by falsely claiming Saddam Hussain had weapons of mass destruction.

"He is a good man, but I don't think he will win because the people there don't like the war," Syed Esmail told Gulf News.

"Even if Tony Blair loses it will not change British foreign policy. They have gone down this road and they can't go back. They must finish the job," he said.

Ebrahim Al Shemari, another Iraqi now based in Abu Dhabi, also expressed his admiration for the UK's prime minister.

"For the people of Iraq he is good, but for the British people I don't know," he said.

Some Labour politicians who privately disagreed with Blair over the war are known to have publicly backed him after the prime minister assured them he would put pressure on the United States to create an independent Palestinian state.

The illegal Israeli occupation, however, has continued unabated and Muslim expatriates in the UAE siad Britain is partly to blame for this.

"I hate Tony Blair because he just follows what Bush says. The British have failed to do anything to secure our rights. I know there are a lot of people there who support us, but the British Government does not," said Ammar Kurdi, a Palestinian living in Abu Dhabi.

Another key issue in next month's election is immigration.

The governing Labour Party has already tightened visa laws, but now it is promising to introduce more restrictions. Meanwhile, the opposition Conservative Party is proposing even harsher measures.

The anti-immigration rhetoric and the Iraq war both infuriate Pakistani shopkeeper Mohammad Saleem.

"Britain and Pakistan have good relations but Blair is making things difficult for people who want to go to his country. Nobody I know likes the tougher laws," he said.

"Britain is just wagging its tail to whatever the United States says ... Bush and Blair are creating big problems for the world."