- 3 Aug 06, 03:52 PM
Today, amid all the diplomacy, the international telephone calls, and the endless meetings with officials, Tony Blair took a meeting with a man called Lewis Pugh.
Who he, you may ask? Well, he's the chap who is currently swimming the length of the Thames to draw attention to climate change (as of today, he's as far as County Hall, just over from Westminster, and is beginning to taste salt). Now the prime minister may indeed be keen to talk to about carbon emissions and the like but perhaps too he just wanted to spend time with someone who knows what it's like to swim against the tide. For that is exactly what Mr Blair is doing with his policy towards the Middle East.
His critics appear to grow daily, including some members of the Cabinet, the Foreign Office, the Labour party, European and Arab nations, and a bevvy of former foreign secretaries and ambassadors who have described his relationship with the US as naive, foolish, creepy and out of control.
One, Sir Roderick Braithwaite, once our man in Moscow, today likened Mr Blair to a Madame Tussaud's waxwork zombie spouting White House spin who had done more damage to British interests in the Middle East than the Suez crisis 50 years ago. Ouch.
But with MPs away from Westminster, it was once again the turn of the fourth estate at the PM's monthly news conference (watch it here) to reflect some of these concerns. Why won't he be more critical of Israel's military operations? Why hasn't he pushed more strongly for a ceasefire? Why has he stayed so close to the US at the cost of alienating many Arab nations? Why is he at odds with so many people?
The prime minister's answer was intriguing. As you might expect, he defended his policy resolutely. Condemnation of Israel and calls for unconditional ceasefires would not provide a solution to the conflict in the Middle East; a permanent cessation of hostilities agreed by all sides followed by an international stabilisation force would.
But for the first time, at least, he acknowledged that his critics existed. Talk of splits with the Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, were dismissed as "complete rubbish" but as for the rest of his colleagues, Mr Blair acknowledged: "I have no doubt there are Cabinet ministers who have doubts about this or that aspect - possibly about the whole aspect of the policy."
He was, he said, not surprised there were anxieties, this was a difficult issue, he understood his critics' views and did not disrespect them. And he wasn't indifferent to the suffering of civilians both in Lebanon and Israel.
So, will this be enough to reassure the critics? No. But frankly the PM probably feels he can weather the storm for now. He doesn't have to face an angry Parliament - everyone's away on their hols - and the concerns expressed by MPs are therefore diffuse and unfocused. Outrage expressed from the comfort of a sun lounger has less moral weight than a well-timed speech in the House of Commons.
But the anger and despair voiced by some Labour MPs is genuine. The question for Mr Blair is whether it lingers long enough to have an impact when MPs return after the summer. At his news conference, the PM promised a packed domestic agenda in the autumn. After the last few weeks, there will be more Labour MPs who hope it'll include his resignation.
As for now, Mr Blair signalled that he would still be going on his own hols to Barbados. But is he leaving John Prescott in charge of Britain's Middle East policy? Er, no. "The most important thing to realise is that wherever I am, I have got full communications," he said. "I will be on the phone."
