Tony Blair actually said this about democracy

Tony Blair is reportedly stepping down from his role as peace envoy for the Quartet of major powers to the Middle East.

According to the Financial Times, Blair met with US secretary of state John Kerry to discuss moving on after accepting poor relations with the Palestinian Authority and his wide-ranging business interests were preventing him from doing the job.

It is long overdue. He has been ineffective in this job. He has no credibility in this part of the world.

• FT source

As he apparently prepares to sign off then, Blair has been talking down democracy in the region.

Speaking at a conference on economic development in Egypt this weekend, the former UK prime minister said:

Yes, democracy is important, but democracy is not on its own sufficient. You also need efficacy. You need effective government taking effective decisions.

"Yes, democracy is important, but..."

Note: The Quartet represents the EU, the UN, the US and Russia.

More: [Tony Blair faces Labour backlash after (another) unhelpful intervention]1

More: [Stephen Fry, Madonna, Tony Blair - The Gay Times icons of the last 30 years]2

More: [The super-rich who have donated money to Tony Blair's big causes]3