BRITAIN: Gordon Brown is expected to declare for Labour leader later today, with the predicted endorsement of Tony Blair and half the parliamentary Labour Party making his march on 10 Downing Street seemingly unstoppable.
Mr Blair finally allowed the hand of history to beckon him offstage yesterday, when he confirmed that he will formally tender his resignation from the office of prime minister to Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday, June 27th. The new Labour leader and next prime minister will be confirmed three days before that, on Sunday June 24th. However, heir-apparent Mr Brown will not know until next week whether he faces a contest or a "coronation", after left-wingers Michael Meacher and John McDonnell failed to agree on which of them has the better chance of obtaining the necessary backing of 44 MPs to get their name on the ballot paper.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland and Welsh Secretary Peter Hain - who has the necessary nominations - was the first of six expected candidates to declare for the party's deputy leadership contest, following John Prescott's confirmation yesterday that he too is standing down. Mr Blair made his long-awaited resignation statement in his Sedgefield, Co Durham constituency yesterday during a passionate and patriotic defence of his decade in power as the only Labour leader ever to win three successive general elections.
Seemingly resigned to going now, Mr Blair told several hundred of the party faithful packed into the Trimdon Labour Club: "In this job, in the world today, I think that is long enough for me, but more especially for the country. Sometimes the only way you conquer the pull of power is to set it down."
In the place from which he launched his own leadership campaign, Mr Blair said: "There is only one government since 1945 that can say all of the following: more jobs, fewer unemployed, better health and education results, lower crime and economic growth in every quarter. Only one government - this one."
But while proclaiming his domestic achievements, Mr Blair characteristically refused to duck the enduring controversies surrounding his foreign policy.
Removing Saddam Hussein and his sons from power, as with removing the Taliban in Afghanistan, had been achieved with relative ease, he said, while admitting that "the blowback" from global terrorism had been fierce and costly. "For many, it simply isn't and can't be worth it," he acknowledged. "For me, I think we must see it through. The terrorists who threaten us around the world will never give up if we give up. It is a test of will and belief. And we can't fail it."
The trappings of power will remain attached to Mr Blair in the coming weeks, during which he insists he will remain focused on major policy issues while undertaking at least five overseas trips, starting today with a visit to Paris to meet French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy. Mr Blair is expected to make a final, farewell visit to President George W Bush in Washington next week, where he can be assured of a rapturous White House reception.
With the majority of British voters thinking the Iraq war will be his enduring legacy, however, it is not clear whether Mr Blair will finally avail of the opportunity to collect his congressional medal of honour. It was also reported yesterday that Mr Blair plans visits to South Africa and several other African nations, underlining his commitment to the continent and another dimension of his foreign policy.
While Mr Blair's extended farewell tour reaches upwards and outwards, however, domestic attention will increasingly turn to Mr Brown, who will use the forthcoming hustings to develop his thinking on the future direction of the Labour government, even if unopposed for the leadership.
Mr Brown broke silence yesterday only to pay tribute to Mr Blair. Since he would be presiding at further cabinet meetings in the next six weeks, Mr Blair had indicated that yesterday was not an occasion for speeches. However, Mr Brown later issued a statement saying: "I think I spoke for millions of people when I said to the cabinet that Tony Blair's achievements are unique, unprecedented and enduring. Many people will remember how he led the country after July 7th, how he responded for the whole world after September 11th in America, how he responded to the tragic death of Princess Diana.
"But over 10 years his enduring legacy will also be that he built better public services, a strong economy, that Britain's reputation in the world is stronger than ever before and that at all times he tried to do the right thing."
As tributes poured in from Ireland and across the world one of the most powerful - if unintended - came from former Conservative leader William Hague, who said: "I think it's good for the Conservative Party to see the back of him."