Leading article: The wrong man for the job

A striking job offer has dropped on to the Downing Street doormat. Tony Blair has been offered the role of special envoy to the Middle East, representing the so-called "Quartet" of world powers when he leaves office next week.

The Prime Minister has been put up for the job by George Bush. We can understand why the US President might be keen to install his old friend. There is, after all, a debt of gratitude to be paid for Mr Blair's steadfastness over Iraq. And perhaps the President regrets not taking up Mr Blair's offer, at the infamous "Yo, Blair!" summit in St Petersburg last summer, to visit the region on his behalf.

It is hard, however, to see Mr Blair inspiring much enthusiasm from the three other members of the quartet. His support for the American intervention in Iraq has weakened Mr Blair's standing in the European Union. He trampled all over the United Nations in his haste to oust Saddam Hussein. And his relations with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, are at a low ebb as a result of the poisoning of the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London.

The response to this job offer highlights the gulf in perceptions of Mr Blair on either side of the Atlantic. In America, where it has been warmly welcomed, the Prime Minister is widely regarded as an honourable man let down by an incompetent president. The perception of Mr Blair in Britain and the rest of Europe tends to be less sympathetic, to put it mildly. Here the reaction to the idea has been notably cooler.

But to dwell on this aspect is to miss the point. The issue is not Mr Blair's credibility in the UK, the US, Europe or even Russia; it is Mr Blair's credibility in the Middle East that matters. And to examine the proposal from this perspective is to recognise how absurd it is. Mr Blair's leading role in the invasion of Iraq, his refusal to demand a ceasefire during the Israeli assault on Lebanon last year, and his abiding closeness to President Bush have ruined his reputation throughout the Arab nations of the Middle East.

Consider how sensitive are the issues on which Mr Blair would have to work if he took up the post: the future of Jerusalem; the right of return for Palestinian refugees; the Israeli-Palestinian borders. Even the most trusted and irreproachable of diplomats would have immense trouble negotiating such a minefield. And Mr Blair has neither of those attributes in the eyes of the Muslim world.

The uncomfortable reality is that Mr Blair is not regarded as an honest broker. Despite the departing Prime Minister's undeniable experience on the world stage, it is difficult to think of someone less qualified for this particular post.

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