Tony Blair never publicly stated which side he backed in the US presidential race. But there are good reasons to think George W. Bush's re-election is the result with which the prime minister feels most comfortable.

Few Labour supporters would doubt that the return of Mr Bush to the White House brings hazards for the UK government. If the president uses his second term to wage the aggressive foreign policy that dominated his first, then Mr Blair will once again be stranded between loyalty to the White House and his need to allay critics of US policy in Britain and the rest of Europe.