Robin Sheeran The Politics Show Northern Ireland

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Tony Blair has invested his time and reputation

What must it be like to read your own obituary? Tony Blair will be faced with this strange situation almost every day for many months to come.

And the Prime Minister is still only 52.

How many frustrating years lie ahead on the sidelines after his retirement?

For Mr Blair the question of his long-term reputation is a difficult one.

For good or ill, his achievements at home are likely to be overshadowed by events in Iraq that are mostly beyond his control.

Or, to pinch a phrase from Shakespeare, reputation is "oft got without merit and lost without deserving".

So where else can the PM look to brush-up his legacy?

A lasting settlement in Northern Ireland may seem a forlorn hope to many on the ground here, but the Good Friday Agreement was one of the high points of Tony Blair's first term.

This week on Politics Show from Northern Ireland, our reporter, Rosy Billingham, asks why the Prime Minister keeps returning to the Stormont conundrum.

There are early signs that Tony Blair still sees a chance to kick-start the process here.

The first indication of this was the despatching of former Secretary of State, Paul Murphy, to the back benches.

Mr Murphy was seen as a safe pair of hands. The appointment of Peter Hain has signalled a change to a more vigorous approach.

Secretaries of State have come and gone, but the personal intervention of the Prime Minister has always proved vital in the peace process.

Although he put off a recent visit to Northern Ireland, it is still thought that Tony Blair may be preparing a major speech to be delivered on a visit before the summer.

The verdicts of our local politicians are mixed. The SDLP leader, Mark Durkan, says Tony Blair, "has shown a sense of mission in Ireland, but I do think he has allowed himself to become a bit confused with some of the policies he has adopted."

Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP MP, observes a tendency in the Prime Minister to try, "to rush headlong and create timetables and deadlines which have more to do with his 'legacy' than they do with meaningful progress."

The Politics Show

Jim Fitzpatrick presents Politics Show from Northern Ireland

The Politics Show from Northern Ireland presented by Jim Fitzpatrick.

Tune in to the Politics Show from Northern Ireland on BBC One on Sunday 12 March 2006 at Noon.

You get a second chance to see the programme again that night, at 23.15 on BBC One.

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