All prime ministers need to be sustained by one necessary but reassuring myth: the illusion that they are in control. Some, exceptionally lucky, prime ministers are able to leave office with that illusion intact. But Tony Blair is close to the horrifying moment, which can be the psychological equivalent of a car crash, when that comfortable falsehood is stripped away. It is the moment when a political leader ceases to be the plausible architect and becomes instead the public victim of events. Till now Tony Blair has been portrayed by his numerous admirers as a strong, confident leader. This week two developments changed that picture, maybe for good.
The first came on the international stage, with the declaration by President Chirac that he would veto the second United Nations resolution on Iraq, whatever the circumstances. Chirac has played his limited hand disgracefully but with great skill.
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