Gordon and Tony meet again but it's the same old story for the PM
Friday, 2 May 2008
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It was hardly an invitation that he could turn down but the Prime Minister cannot have relished being once again in the shadow of his predecessor Tony Blair when he joined guests at a Mayfair hotel for a conference on investment in the Palestinian territories.
The Tony Blair roadshow was back in town last night, or at least that is the way it must have seemed to Mr Brown. On Mr Blair's coat-tails as he arrived fresh from an Islamic economic forum in Kuwait, came a bevy of foreign ministers from the Middle East, all on first name terms with the former prime minister.
Among his numerous other duties, Mr Blair has worked as the envoy of the Quartet for Middle East peace since leaving office. As such, he attended last night's forum promoting economic development in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza, talking to private sector investors in London along with the Prime Minister, the International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander and the Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad.
About 120 project applications were on the stocks at the meeting, seen as preparing the ground for a big investment conference to be attended by 600 people in Bethlehem next month, officials said.
Today, Mr Blair will be back at work with the Quartet, which groups the US, Russia, the UN and EU, charting the way ahead for the Middle East. It is the group's first substantive meeting this year, at foreign ministers' level.
The Quartet is likely to urge Israel to take steps to ease the humanitarian suffering in Gaza but will not renounce its principle of refusing to deal with Hamas as long as the militant Islamic movement, which seized control of the territory from Fatah last June, has not renounced violence and agreed to recognise Israel. A donors' conference, attended by both Israel and the Palestinians, is also being held here today.
Last night's event, at which Mr Brown opened proceedings, was the first that the two have attended together since Mr Blair left Downing Street.
Only last week, Mr Brown was forced to dismiss the "gossip and rumour" after Lord Levy revealed in his memoirs that Mr Blair had told him repeatedly that his successor could not beat David Cameron in an election.
Yesterday, after being upstaged by Pope Benedict during a recent visit to America, Mr Brown had to suffer further ignominy when Time magazine announced that Mr Blair was on its list of the world's 100 most influential people for the first time. He was right up there with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama. The current prime minister was not, although he had made an appearance in 2005 while still chancellor.
Did Mr Blair feel any compassion for his successor, whose popularity ratings have slumped in the polls over the 10p tax revolt? If so, he did not show it. For last night, Mr Blair was in his element, revelling in the international spotlight on the day that by a cruel twist of fate Mr Brown's political obituary was being written by the commentators, once again, on the day of the local elections.
