Some gave him the thumbs-up for the post of the so-called Middle East Quartet's envoy to the region, amid rampant speculation that he is set to be offered the position.

Blair was set to officially step down as British prime minister Wednesday, after more than a decade in office, to make way for his successor Gordon Brown, who has been Blair's finance minister since 1997.

The Sun tabloid, Britain's best-read daily, said in its editorial column that, "Love him or loathe him -- and there are plenty on both sides -- this PM has given Britain a genuine lift in ten years at Number 10 (Downing Street)."

"He has transformed the political landscape and forced the Tories to up their game," the paper said of the man it has backed in each of the past three general elections.

The Daily Telegraph, a traditional backer of the opposition Conservatives, was less positive in its assessment of Blair's decade, describing him as a leader who "promised so much and has, in truth, delivered so little."

"No leader of any political stripe has taken office with such a powerful mandate, such overwhelming popular approval. Yet how carelessly he squandered the opportunity to effect real change," the paper's editorial read.

The paper wished Blair well in his Middle East endeavours "in the hope that he leaves a more lasting legacy in that troubled region than he has managed here."

The Daily Mail, a right-wing paper that has long been a critic of Blair's Labour party, was even less subtle in its criticism of the outgoing leader, describing his time in office as "a story of hopes dashed and promise unfulfilled in a decade of unparalleled prosperity -- the work of Gordon Brown, not Mr Blair -- in which so much could have been achieved."

"No, we are not sorry to see him go. Today the rebuilding can begin."

On the subject of Blair's potential future role as Middle East envoy to the Quartet -- the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia -- the Daily Mirror, a Labour-supportive tabloid, gave a qualified endorsement for Blair.

In an editorial headlined, "Right man for the job?", the Mirror said that former US president Bill Clinton may have been a better choice for the job as "even our moderate Arab allies say that Mr Blair's credibility in the region is in pieces."

It added, however, that Blair's "brilliant efforts in Northern Ireland have proved that he can negotiate the impossible."

"If Mr Blair can use his communicative skills and persuasive charm to bring the fragments of this blighted region together for a real and lasting peace, then he will find a true place in history.

The Times, however, dismissed suggestions that Britain's troubles in Iraq have hurt Blair's credibility in the Middle East, describing the suggestion as "nonsense."

"What matters is that an envoy commands the confidence of the major powers sponsoring him, that he is familiar with the problems on the ground, and that both (Israeli Prime Minister) Ehud Olmert and (Palestinian president) Mahmud Abbas are prepared to work with him," the paper said in an editorial.

"Mr Blair is thus well qualified."