'Return' of Tony Blair

Tony Blair is back. The Middle East is aflame; the coalition floundering. Whatever your view of Labour's polarising former premier, he hasn't lost his sense of political timing.
"Blair the 'back seat driver' tells Ed Miliband to up his game", reported the Sunday Telegraph, "the former prime minister has told Mr Miliband he has risked cheapening his role by intervening too often on too many relatively trivial issues."
Miliband was no doubt delighted with the advice. As Nick Clegg grapples the Monster Raving Looney Party for political survival -- and David Cameron strides onto the international stage with all the gravitas and judgment of Dr Strangelove -- Labour's current leader needs his predecessor popping up like he needs a hole in the head.
Attempts to brush off Sunday's briefing as part of a "regular" series of conversations between the two men have fooled no one. Blair is, not to put too fine a point on things, pissed off. He's angry at Miliband's apparent junking of New Labour. He's even angrier at attempts to tarnish his legacy by what he sees as misrepresentation of his efforts to bring Colonel Gaddafi into the international mainstream.
And he's most angry at what he regards as an effort to use the "Arab Spring" as a further stick to beat him, his Iraq policy and his broader policy of progressive interventionism.
Ed Miliband's team believe this anger is now being channelled into a co-ordinated Blairite fightback. Jack Straw, Peter Mandelson, David Miliband and Jim Murphy have all made recent high profile interventions defending Blair and his foreign affairs record and philosophy. "We know what's going on," said one Miliband supporter, "We're not stupid."
Claims in the Telegraph article that Blair was responsible for recent improvements in Milband's performance and standing have been met with bewilderment; "It would be ludicrous to pretend this is all down to Tony - the unpopularity of the government's spending cuts obviously plays a major role -- but Ed is always happy to listen to his advice," said a leadership source.
Those close to the Blairite camp see things somewhat differently. According to supporters of the former leader, Ed Miliband is becoming increasingly nervous at his failure to build a proper support base within the party, "Last time Ed spoke to Tony he wanted his help and advice in shoring up his position. It's taking much longer to bring people round than Ed anticipated."

We think he should stick to his paid day-time job of promoting Israeli Foreign Policy Middle East 'Peace' Envoy(cough).

H /T The Telegraph and the Staggers