After my long journey with Tony Blair, I am left wondering was Tony simply a modern day Machiavelli?

I have finally arrived at the 691st page of Tony Blair’s ‘Journey’. Now the dust has settled on the press’s quick fire review of small snippets, I thought I would make a few comments on the former Prime Minister’s fascinating memoirs.

It is true that at times, Tony comes across as annoyingly arrogant and almost abnormally self-assured, but then is it possible to be as successful as he has been without being so? It is also true that there are some cringe-worthy descriptions where he tries too hard to please, with Charles Moore of the Telegraph commenting on his irritating habit of warning you that he is about to tell you something funny , and thereby taking away from the humour.

There are also many issues which I and Tony will never see eye to eye on. One of which that particularly annoys is his surrender stance on Europe. ‘Live with it’ he says - it is a reality. However, my belief is that it is only a reality if we choose to do nothing about it: Tony, some of us do not want to ‘live with it’!
Yet notwithstanding this, reading the book in the main makes you recall just what a truly incredible operator Tony Blair was. Throughout the book he gives a remarkably persuasive sale of the New Labour project and you are reminded of the genius of the New Labour idea and why it was so appealing.

Not surprisingly, a significant part of the book deals with Iraq. You are reminded of Tony’s training as a barrister when he gives an impassioned defence of his decision to go to war, and I for one can’t help feeling a great deal of sympathy with his argument (although I was somewhat already persuaded on this issue).

And yet, for all his persuasiveness and appeal, as I winded through Northern Ireland, the war on terror, Gordon Brown and public services reform, and I drew to the journey’s end, I could not help wondering whether Tony Blair was actually a modern day Machiavelli. His advice and candidness on how to conduct negotiations or create policy cannot help but to bring to mind the famous Florentine philosopher, albeit perhaps with not quite the ruthlessness cynicism. As every successful politician must be, Tony shows real pragmatism to policy. But this must always be balanced with a sense of principle, whatever that principle may be, otherwise what is it all for? Although, Tony argues that by the end of his journey all he cares about is doing the right thing, I can’t help feeling that when you strip away the fantastic pragmatic operator there is not much left. In a sense the pragmatism is the guiding principal.

I am sure his supporters (if there are any left) would argue that this is a great injustice to him. If nothing else he is a fascinating and exceptional historical figure who has been at the heart of politics for over a decade, shaping the political landscape which we now inhabit. For that reason alone it is well worth embarking with Tony on this Journey.