We learn that the US is seriously considering offering Tony Blair a job seeking to find peace in the?? Middle East by tackling the Palestinian problem. He would be working for the quartet, although so far Russia does not seem to have been brought into the loop??to agree such a move. After Mr Blair’s account to Parliament of his difficult exchanges with Mr Putin at the recent G8 summit Russia it would be wise to ask them nicely.

??It would be the least bad solution to the question of what??this ??former Prime Minister with plenty of energy left??should do. He knows many of the important players. He certainly knows the immediate history to the present chaos, as the Middle East has dominated his last six years in power. His talents are presentational, not managerial. He is best at tallking to people, not at running large organisations.

He will have the goodwill of the British people as well as of the US administration in any serious effort to solve the Palestinian problem. He leaves power mired in unpopularity for what he has done, but with more support for the style and personality he has brought to high office. If he could harness these strengths to a popular cause - peace through talking - rather than to an unpopular one - regime change through force -??he will get a better press.

It is one of the toughest diplomatic challlenges anyone can be given. We should not expect any easy or rapid improvements, but we do need to try to move things forward.

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