He's riding pretty high at the moment. It is a strange turnaround from the election that was well underway even before the bomb. The spat at the European Union made him popular over here, as his critics (principally Chirac) seemed to be trying to divert attention from their own failings. Anti-EC sentiment is often quite popular, but at the moment it strikes a chord with those disenchanted from the political elite. For the first time since he became PM, Blair is coming across quite hostile to the EU, and it is popular.
On top of that, his pitch for Africa, debt-forgiveness and action on climate change is very popular with his more vocal critics here. The election found that specific group of educated, sometime activist young particularly hostile to Blair over Iraq. But since the election it is hard to underestimate the work he has put in to pitch his politics towards their concerns.
Most importantly, the Geldof organised concerts have allowed him to position himself as the champion of the 'make poverty history' protestors outside the summit. (You should know that Geldof, Bono, Blair and chancellor Gordon Brown cooked this up over a weekend at the PM's official residence a while back).
And then yesterday, winning the Olympic bid put the icing on the cake of Blair's resurrection, complete with humiliation for Chirac, Euro-hate figure de jour.
So today, the bombings find Blair at the top of his game. The G8 protestors who were getting a very generous press yesterday have disappeared from the newservices, and he is striking a Churchillian note. Even Bush, who was being rubbished as the Toxic Texan yesterday, is taken as a welcome ally today.
The bombers, whoever they are, chose to make targets of London's working population, targeting the London Underground, and Bus Service at rush hour. We are still uninformed as to their political goals, as presumably are they. Like Blair, they would appear to welcome the disorientation and demoralisation that random bombing attacks bring, the miserable no-marks.
Here's my photo of the scene at Kings Cross today (I was working at the British Library nearby - one institution that carried on regardless, everywhere else has taken the opportunity to close down).
http://www.heartfield.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/KingsX.htm
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